Dunwich Dynamo 2017

[velovoice]

This was third DD
My observations/improvements would be

Encouragement for people to leave earlier, so instead of the bulk leaving around 8pm, start them off from 4pm, given that a 'normal' cyclist takes circa 12 hrs Park to Beach (9-10hrs moving time seems average) , then a lot more people would be at the beach by dawn. I hear people were still rolling in after mid day !
It would also spread the surge out in the London traffic and reduce the queues at the popular stopping places.

Some better sign posting. These are probably only about 15 turns in the entire 118 miles that are not obvious. a couple are signed. a few more would be excellent

Encouragement for a few more pop up food stalls, especially in the last half.

Who's going to do all this ? Personally i would not mind adding £1-2 to the coach ticket (which would make another £1-2K) which would pay for someone to take a couple of days off work, have some 'estate agent' type signs printed up, and the day before to drive the route and put them up.
(Yes, i did buy a route card, but they cant be read in the dark, and also unless you understand them they may as well be written in Greek)

Likewise, a bit of PR with the village WI or whatever may get a few more of those villages 'on side' especially if we contribute £500 to the local church steeple fund or whatever from buying cakes and coffee

It would all take time and behind the scenes organisation, but it could be done and still keep the anarchic disorganisation vibe

Just a reminder that this is NOT an organised ride. Patrick of the London Cycling School checks the route beforehand, goes around again on his motorbike on the Saturday to put out a few jam jar lights at the trickiest corners, prints off a route sheet and offers it for donations at London Fields.

That's it.

Southwark Cyclists take it upon themselves to offer returns to London.

That Is It.

There is no one to "encourage" people to set off at any time at all, much less "earlier" or in stages.

There is no one controlling traffic, much less preventing bunches or surges or queues.

You want that stuff, enter a sportive.

Sorry to be grumpy, but I've been involved with this event for a very long time and it really does get annoying how many people make ungrateful noises like this afterwards. You didn't sign up anywhere. You didn't hand over your name, telephone number and insurance details to anyone. No one owes you anything. Just get out there and pedal your bike and enjoy the magic. It's up to you to make that happen.

 

[User10571]

Just a reminder that this is NOT an organised ride. Patrick of the London Cycling School checks the route beforehand, goes around again on his motorbike on the Saturday to put out a few jam jar lights at the trickiest corners, prints off a route sheet and offers it for donations at London Fields.

That's it.

Southwark Cyclists take it upon themselves to offer returns to London.

That Is It.

There is no one to "encourage" people to set off at any time at all, much less "earlier" or in stages.

There is no one controlling traffic, much less preventing bunches or surges or queues.

You want that stuff, enter a sportive.

Sorry to be grumpy, but I've been involved with this event for a very long time and it really does get annoying how many people make ungrateful noises like this afterwards. You didn't sign up anywhere. You didn't hand over your name, telephone number and insurance details to anyone. No one owes you anything. Just get out there and pedal your bike and enjoy the magic. It's up to you to make that happen.

Top post.

 

[rusky]

There's a great video here filmed with a quadcopter

View: https://youtu.be/qrwnWuSXMog

 

[ianrauk]

There's a great video here filmed with a quadcopter

View: https://youtu.be/qrwnWuSXMog

Already posted by @Blue Hills up thread.

 

[Brains]

Just a reminder that this is NOT an organised ride. Patrick of the London Cycling School checks the route beforehand, goes around again on his motorbike on the Saturday to put out a few jam jar lights at the trickiest corners, prints off a route sheet and offers it for donations at London Fields.

That's it.

Southwark Cyclists take it upon themselves to offer returns to London.

That Is It.

There is no one to "encourage" people to set off at any time at all, much less "earlier" or in stages.

There is no one controlling traffic, much less preventing bunches or surges or queues.

You want that stuff, enter a sportive.

Sorry to be grumpy, but I've been involved with this event for a very long time and it really does get annoying how many people make ungrateful noises like this afterwards. You didn't sign up anywhere. You didn't hand over your name, telephone number and insurance details to anyone. No one owes you anything. Just get out there and pedal your bike and enjoy the magic. It's up to you to make that happen.

Who said ungrateful ?
I'm just suggesting minor improvements
It could be done by one person, you or me or someone else
I have also proposed how it could be financed by getting Southwark cyclists to add £1 to the ticket price
As I said I dont want to change the organised chaos of the ride, that is what makes it fun ( and not a sportive),
But it would be desirable to make the route easier to follow.
It would be desirable to spread people out a bit more
It would be desirable to get the villages after Sunbury 'on side' by reducing noise and getting them to run the pop ups.

 

[4F]

Who said ungrateful ?
I'm just suggesting minor improvements
It could be done by one person, you or me or someone else
I have also proposed how it could be financed by getting Southwark cyclists to add £1 to the ticket price
As I said I dont want to change the organised chaos of the ride, that is what makes it fun ( and not a sportive),
But it would be desirable to make the route easier to follow.
It would be desirable to spread people out a bit more
It would be desirable to get the villages after Sunbury 'on side' by reducing noise and getting them to run the pop ups.

Totally disagree, the Dunwich Dynamo is what it is because it is not regulated and that is the magic of it. The route is not hard to follow and what you are suggesting is a form of a partial sportive which would be the worst of both worlds.

 

[Brains]

OK, point taken
I can follow the route card, I keep quiet in the villages, I'll leave around 7pm next year (and still not make it to Dunwich for dawn )

Next year people will get lost (which may, or may not, be part of the fun.)
Next year the villagers after Sunbury will complain again and do their level best to ensure their the route bypasses their area or their pop up

 

[Blue Hills]

Don't quit understand your issues with following the route to be honest brains. First time i did it there were less than 500 folk i think and with the route card and help from others even i was fine. Yes to be honest the weaving through the lanes and slight apparent vagueness is part of the wonder of the thing. With the advent of mass riders and gps i do somewhat miss kind folk waiting/resting on corners pointing the way.

All the best, will try and bump into you next time if i do it again - missed you this time because of my one man departure time staggering.

 

[Brains]

Don't quit understand your issues with following the route to be honest brains. First time i did it there were less than 500 folk i think and with the route card and help from others even i was fine. Yes to be honest the weaving through the lanes and slight apparent vagueness is part of the wonder of the thing. With the advent of mass riders and gps i do somewhat miss kind folk waiting/resting on corners pointing the way.

All the best, will try and bump into you next time if i do it again - missed you this time because of my one man departure time staggering.

The bit about routing:
If you have Strava it would appear around 2,200 people did the DD in 2017 with Strava turned on
If you look at some of the earlier lit sections, you see the numbers are consistently over 2,000 people
However once you get into the wilds of dark Suffolk the number drops to about 1,850-1,900 people on any given section
Before getting back to full strength near Dunwich
It would imply that quite a number of people are taking 'long cuts' or missing turnings (which may, or may not be part of the fun at 3.30am)

Certainly at one point we were on the main route when a constant stream of cyclists appeared from the right., I've no idea where they had gone wrong, but there were lots of them.

An extra mile or two may not matter, but an extra hill or an extra 5 miles really does make a difference

Next year I'm all for kicking off with a bunch of CC'ers, and see if any of you are actually real, as I've never met a live CC cyclist

 

[RoubaixCube]

and see if any of you are actually real, as I've never met a live CC cyclist

We're bit of an elusive bunch really. Quite often anti-social

 

[Blue Hills]

The bit about routing:
If you have Strava it would appear around 2,200 people did the DD in 2017 with Strava turned on
If you look at some of the earlier lit sections, you see the numbers are consistently over 2,000 people
However once you get into the wilds of dark Suffolk the number drops to about 1,850-1,900 people on any given section
Before getting back to full strength near Dunwich
It would imply that quite a number of people are taking 'long cuts' or missing turnings (which may, or may not be part of the fun at 3.30am)

Certainly at one point we were on the main route when a constant stream of cyclists appeared from the right., I've no idea where they had gone wrong, but there were lots of them.

An extra mile or two may not matter, but an extra hill or an extra 5 miles really does make a difference

Next year I'm all for kicking off with a bunch of CC'ers, and see if any of you are actually real, as I've never met a live CC cyclist

So 2,200 folk were using strava? It's not for me and i am sure not for many on the dynamo. Anyone know how many folk in total did the ride this year? If i am in town next year i am all for kicking off with a bunch of ccers. I met roubaix cube on the ride, in fact he came alongside and asked if i was a cc bod, not because of any shirt or id but because of the description i had posted.
you can meet me this weekend on a gentle ride, will pm you with details of what may, on past form, be an educational tootle. Will probably be on a Ridgeback of some description.

 

[Blue Hills]

We're bit of an elusive bunch really. Quite often anti-social

I meet a lot of cyclists one way and another. I quite often ask them if they are on this or any of the other forums. I can't remember anyone ever saying yes. I have a sneaking suspicion that some are lying low as their online character is possibly some crazed ego driven (possibly cramped) nutjob from the politics sections. Whereas in "real life" they may be quite innoffensive, possibly to a fault.