Dunwich Dynamo 4th July 2009

[Tynan]

What was with the panicking over what was no more than light rain, I was quite happy in an ss top plus base, it was never heavy enough to get wet let alone cold, me and Will rode right through it, as every single tree or shelter saw people pulling on waterproofs

in our bid to be first there, ish, we were gurgling with clear at a hundred odd scalps so easily taken

so well over a year to the next one, I'm there, last year took a long while to wear off, this year was good fun, perhaps (fact) the last 30 were a slog but the car park was genuine quality and more than made up for the last 30, if we see numbers like last year, I reckon pack the halfway meal and crack on, even with an hour break that has to save an hour, all the more stella time, I reckon that ride is teetering on the bring of going the way of the L2B and the like, mobs of casual riders clogging it all up

cooking was a pleasure, once I'd got the hang of the four foot ceiling and the small pan I was rolling, I was rather sad when everyone was full

gawd, I skimmed the Barry blog, people actually called his mobile to say that they were lost?

and people stuck their bikes on the trucks without having paid/booked?

I'd have fixed that one easy, check no-one got on the caoches without a ticket and see who's left whimpering outside the coach doors, I lke to see people get home from there without a bike, in cycle kit

 

[4F]

Your CC shirt would do the flag bit

If you were located any closer Al I would pop over and find an alternative storage location for your butterfly bars !!

 

[4F]

Tynan I agree, a bit of light rain and the amount of people sheltering was suprising. If anything I found it rather refreshing.

Maybe I could park the company car in Needham Market next time as an alternative "Cycle Chat only" mid point stop or just crack on and go for a 04:30 hrs Stella time in Dunwich.

 

[Tynan]

dunno about crack on, I think that halfway break and something to eat is necessary for all but the hot shots

suspect the hot fod, even it was only a cuppa and a soup makes a difference to a body in the wee hours

I saw some of the experienced type had camper stoves to heat stuff up on

4.30 stella time ...

sounds messy

 

[Dan B]

The café on the beach was open from 04:30 I understood from the chap I spoke with. He got off at Shenfield (with Wowbagger, as it happens) and wore 'Road ID' on his right arm

Ah, that'd be Ray, then. Yes, he's a bit fast on two wheels these days - he also rides with a proper cycling club, although I can't remember which (may be Glendene).

 

[Sittingduck]

Yeah - let's all do it there and back next year. What are we - men or mice?

Squeek, squeek... squeeeek!

 

[stevevw]

Just to let you all know I have had two Bacon, mushroom & tomato rolls with brown sauce for my lunch today. I now feel really full and a bit sick, strange it was not like that on Sunday perhaps I should have had a Stella as well.

I was going to say we should get better organised for next years ride but as Will has a new thread up I think we should be fine. I will get hold of at least one more stove for next year. And we could do with more chairs, tables and a gazebo or two. Tynan can then cook standing up.

Which one of you once had a Racetech Jacket? It is in the van and of no use to any of the Fatketeers so get in touch and I will get it to you.

 

[Aperitif]

That's Radius' jacket steve - beanpole deluxe...he realised that he left it behind.

 

[stevevw]

That's Radius' jacket steve - beanpole deluxe...he realised that he left it behind.

Thanks I will PM him later.

 

[redjedi]

Well I finally get a chance to write something, and although it was a hard slog I think I quite enjoyed the ride (although other parts of me didn't ,must go and make some adjustments to the saddle in a minute )

Set off at 4.45 on Saturday to mee SittingDuck at Chelsea bridge. Not remembering to account for mid afternoon traffic meant I arrive a little late. Onwards we went until I spotted that SD's water bottles were no where to be seen, led to improptued stop at a bike shop (just 5 mins before they closed).

Fully bottled up, we made our way to Liverpool street to meet Will1985, 4F and SteveVW before going to the start at London fields.

This was when we hade our first Garmin-moment, or rather lack of. 5 cylists, 3 with state of the art GPS systems and yet still we had trouble negotiating the few miles to the park. Will finally worked it out from memory and a little help from his computerised friend.

London fields was already packed with bikes and riders of all shapes and sizes as far as the eye could see. So we claimed our spot near the pub and the start and waited for the others to join us.

Beer was consumed, SD's water bottles were filled with various liquids, and route directions were purchased (4f an myself not entirelly filled with confidence by the Garmin action so far )

Aperitif was the first to arrive, surprising bright for someone who had already done 100+ the night before

Tynan was the last to arrive, and was dissapointed to hear that we had already taken liquid refreshment and were ready for the off, and off we did.

Getting out of London was as bad as it could have been. Our group was split by traffic and lights but there were plenty of other cyclist around to keep us company. Apertif and myself followed a lady on a unicycle (a FNRttC'er, I forget name) for a few miles before steaming onwards to catch up the others.

4F, SD and SteveVW had stopped in a layby for us. No sign of Will or Tynan (who, we later found out had stopped 20m earlier in the garage), so on we went.

From here my mind goes a bit hazy. A pace was set of approx 20mph which was gamely matched by myself and SD for a few hours, but eventually we had to slow down for fear of not making the halfway stop, let alone the finish. An un-scheduled stop allowed for SD to fix his water supply and I re-filled water bottles in a "local" pub. Gawped at as I wondered in, a cheery bar lady filled our bottles and called us all mad

Another re-group saw us re-joined by Will and Tynan.

The relentless pace was continued, and stupidly I tried to keep up, using Steve's glow-in-the-dark shoes as a marker. I didn't last long and slowed to let the others catch up. They soon did only to find Steve was with them. Who had I been following???

The last 20 miles leading upto the half way re-fuel were very tough for me. Stuck in no-mans land between the whippets, hunting a good spot in the food queue, and Aperitif keeping Sittingduck company, I found myself dwindling. My legs were on auto-pilot and a decent pace but I found myself struggling to stay awake, The purrrr of my new campag wheel and the burn of my new, and in-appropietly setup saddle, were the only things keeping me awake .

Halfway point reached, queue very uninviting, pavement suddenly looked very comfy, and 20 winks were taken. Aperitif finally showed signs of being human and also fell asleep by the side of the road.

The second half was just Aperitif, SittingDuck and myself. The other 4 had ploughed on past us and were looking for bacon rolls, beer and a beach.

We continued at a much more civilised pace, stopping after 25 miles for a rest, food and to give directions at a very misleading junction next to a very attractive pink thatched cottage.

Energy gel was consumed for the first and last time

The second half of the Run was much more pleasent. The red sunrise energising us all,......until the rain came

The youthful legs, and new company of Radius also helped to eat up the final miles. Stopping briefly to recognise the new member of the CC Centurians - SittingDuck

We then took a bit of a detour. Sittingduck's Garmin taking us in one direction*, but screams of "no" were taking us in a different direction. These "very helpful" ridiers were no were to be seen when a turn was obviously called for, and the remaining route was ridden by just the 4 of us (someone else had taken our lead).

*SD's route would have worked out just fine and put us back on the planned route with only a slight variance, this detour was in no way a computerised failure

A brief stint on the A12 finally let us see signs to Dunwich and sighs of relief were heard for miles around.
Another sign of "Dunwich 2.5m" had obviously been moved in-land by about 3 miles and although it was the final run "down" to the coast, there were a surprising number of ups to get there.
Radius and myself could smell the sea air, the CC Cafe and anticipating the next hill to be the last hill (at least 6 times) we pushed on and opened a small gap to SD and 'teef.

The sight of a white VW camper and 4 men in lycra waving, had never been so welcome.

Bacon butties and beer at 7.40am, what a nice way to start end a day.

 

[MacB]

The sight of a white VW camper and 4 men in lycra waving, had never been so welcome.

there's a line I bet you thought you'd never use

good write up Red, are you happy with the new bike, saddle position aside?

 

[Tynan]

that sounds like my ride last year jedi, I just made the stop and struggled second half

I think one under the belt make you far more confident the second time around

and the campervan beat the shoot out of that queue for the cafe, it's a very good cafe once you in and sat down but far too many people

far too many people anyway

I've never a seen a group disintegrate so rapidly every single time within seconds

but we at least stuck together in pairs at least, let me tell you, riding that second half before dawn on your tod is one to avoid

 

[redjedi]

Squeek, squeek... squeeeek!

Is that your back wheel playing up again?

 

[Sittingduck]

Is that your back wheel playing up again?

No - that sounds more like a squeeling pig

 

[redjedi]

there's a line I bet you thought you'd never use

good write up Red, are you happy with the new bike, saddle position aside?

I'll be a lot happier once I get it fully adjusted, but it's nicer to ride than my old bike, just needs a little tweaking.