I`ve been coerced into doing my first Dunwich Dynamo this Saturday.Who else is going? Any tips as to what to take? And wheres best to get a train back.Heard the local station gets crammed.

I’ll be participating again – 3rd year. Up to you what to take, some have take a spare tube and a banana, others choose dogs and digeridoo’s….
The bus back has to be the best option, but only with the possibility of no-shows now. Riding to Ipswich to catch the train seems to work well enough and its “only” another 30 miles. I’ve always fancied using it as the start of a few days tour… next year maybe.
The best thing to take is a tailwind!
See you on the road or on the shingle – i’ll be on me trusty brown roadrat again.

Edit – go at your own pace. I tried to keep up with people last year and suffered the last 60 miles. It took the edge off it a bit….

Katie and I are in. Wondering about food and drink – I know there’s a half way stop but I can’t see myself getting the calories I need into the back pockets of a riding shirt so it’s looking like a it might be a camelbak on the road bike (shudder)

Was just thinking the same about the Camelbak.Somehow need to get a waterproof,knee warmers,spare tube,food,etc and my minimalist seatpack isn`t going to cut it…….

Exactly…. weather’s looking better though. Dry and relatively warm overnight now. A big improvement from the outlook a few days back.

Best of luck I grew up for in that area. Lovely road riding if you are not into monster climbs. There are a number of local stations further inland but One railways not always very bike friendly on.that local service in my limited experience. All my local maps are in the babys room so can’t check but might be worth searching Leiston and Saxmundham which i seem to recall have stations.

just take some sarnies/ cake/ banana in a plastic bag and tie it to your crossbar/ handlebars – no need for a rucksack
I have a mate who’s doing it and would have done it myself but I’m away this weekend, wanted to do it last year too but it was properly raining

Im doing it! think it will be my 4th time.

I wouldnt count on getting food at the half way point as it can get very busy (especially in recent years) with long queues. So take food for the whole trip. There’s usually pop up cafes in the last 30 miles or so (selling bacon butties for charity).

The bus is slow and you have to wait around for hours until it leaves (not great is the weather is poo) so I’ve always rode to Ipswich and got the train back. This year me and a mate are planning on riding back to london after a bit of kip on the beach.

Enjoy it! It’s a great ride. I’ll be the bearded indian guy at london fields sipping a pint in a blue Gregarios jersey before the start.

Apologies in advance if my geography is up the spout. I have lived on the south coast for 15+ years so its not as fresh as it used to be.

I am going. Leaving from Swindon Friday morning, riding route 4 into London and then on to the ride.

There were at least two pop-up food stops last year, one of which saved my life (food wise)

http://www.phased.co.uk/index.php/dunwich-dynamo.html

Say “Hello” I will be on the Genesis CX bike with disks .

I’ve done it several times, usually on my SS road bike and yes, with a (small) CamelBak. 😳
Holds extra clothing, bit of food, couple of extra tubes and the spare battery for my lights. Not ideal but hey, it’s dark so no one can see the fashion faux pas! 😉

Getting out of London can be a bit mental – stick together as it’s not unusual to get a bit of abuse from drunken chavs as you go out through the less salubrious parts of North London and Essex. Soon quietens down and most folk find their own group at a comfortable speed. Riding alone is to be avoided if possible, mostly cos it’s boring as hell.

The feed station can get VERY crowded. We’ve always battered it the first 40 miles or so to get in there early but equally, some people just ride to a pub and sit there til last orders, using that to fuel up. The last few years there has been someone opened up their front garden to sell bacon sarnies (about the 80 mile mark IIRC). Take a few quid – it’ll be a lifesaver if you need to stop at a garage or for bacon sarnies! The cafe at the beach is a bit meh – it used to be good but was average at best last time I was there. Opens about 5am so it’s not worth caning it to be there at 4 cos you’ll have a long wait on a cold beach!

Travel back: we always rode down to Ipswich (about 40 miles) and got the early train back which usually has a guards van on it and they know the ride is on. There is a local station but trains from it are few and far between on a Sunday morning and there’s less bike space than on the main line.

Good event though: have fun, chill out and just enjoy the sight of people on every type of bike imaginable. Someone even did it on a Boris Bike last year.

Cafe was open at 3am last year when I arrived and the bacon butty+coffee was mint

Rode it on my Brompton a few years ago and a nice chap gave me a lift to Ipswich. There’s only one hill and a long drag to the finish. Great ride.

I’m on my first attempt at this event and will also be on a brown Roadrat. I may regret doing this singlespeed but I’m using it as an opportunity to raise funds for charity, so the pain’ll be worth it. See you all on the road or in a cafe somewhere.

Yep, I’m doing it – looking forward to it. Going to be stuffing pockets with energy bars and usual tools/spares in a saddle bag. Hoping that will be enough.

Met Office says dry and a nice tail wind – lets hope they are correct

Just about to set off in the howling wind and pissing rain

1st time for me too – riding back home to Suffolk so it would be rude not to give it a go.

Darsham & Saxmundham are your closest train stations & yes likely to be rammed. Getting back to Ipswich will give you other train options with guards vans.

Will have my TROG shirt on… although there could be a few of us.

I’ll be wearing a ‘Guillain-Barré Syndrome Support Group’ shirt – their logo is – rather appropriatly – a green tortoise

Might have two coach tickets for sale if anyone wants them. Only for sale if both go (It’s the Southwark Cyclists bus, includes transport for your bike). £30 each

Hi Simon, do you still have those tickets as got 2 mates who are looking so would be very happy to take them off you?

Blowing a hoolie up here at the moment in Suffolkshire! ‘Tis a south westerly you’ll be pleased to hear!

Yup, this will be my 7th or 8th I think.

Food stops – the main one is always busy, there is the odd chip shop on the route before then plus a couple of 24 hour garages as you leave London. The front garden bacon sandwich option is always good, the Gosbeck one is definitely running this year, there may be others – see the Southwark Cycles twitter feed for details. The LBS in Sudbury is also doing a mechanical stop on route, think they may be doing hot drinks too but don’t quote me.

I will be filling up (and watching the TdF) at Look Mum No Hands beforehand and carrying stuff in pockets/tri-bag – won’t say no to some hot food if available but CBA queueing for hours either.

For trains, there was a post on the DD Facebook group about extra capacity being put on but I can’t get on there at work so someone else will need to post the link. The train people are geared up to deal with people at Darsham so don’t be tempted to try getting on at Saxmundham or Halesworth. Ipswich is on the intercity line with proper guards vans so should be fine if you can ride there. Thankfully I only have to ride 20 miles up the coast to my parents’.

One other thing – the Ship Inn will be opening at 5am so you have the option of a celebratory early morning beer in Dunwich!

cotic853 – Member
I’ll be wearing a ‘Guillain-Barré Syndrome Support Group’ shirt – their logo is – rather appropriatly – a green tortoise

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A fantastic charity!

I’m in. 2nd time for me…I think we’ll be blown there, which is nice. Turning round and cycling back to Ipswich could be interesting though. I was going to go singlespeed but I’ve been ill all week so gears for me (that’s my excuse and I am sticking to it). Now about to put my puncture proof tyres on.

Me and spursn17 are going, its our second time, we’ll probably leave London Fields 8.30ish, and arrive about 5ish, so pretty steady, we’ll be riding back to Harwich sunday morning.
For me on long rides its all about getting the fuelling right, plenty of sausage rolls for me, and looking forward to the bacon roll stop. We’ll be wearing Gateway cc kit, if you want to say hello…

How did everyone get on?

It was a blast, perfect conditions and tail wind. I got there at 3.30am and had to wait till four for the cafe. Seemed like well over 2,000 made the trip, the beach was packed this morning.

Dave – didn’t realise you were there. Katie, Keith and I got in at 4.10. Sorry to have missed you.

Simon, I was looking out for you both..but it was dark 😉

…and you were wearing sunglasses. I know…

My ride was a lttle more lesurely.Was riding in a group of 6,3 of us were first timers. Lots of stops at he pubs,and the bacon butty tent near Framlingham was a gift from god.

I finally made it to the beach at about 8am.What an event!

Respect to those that finished at 3.30,I watched some of the Dulwich riders speed by me on the road through Epping and can`t imagine how they kept that sort of pace for 116 miles.

I`ve already written 21st July 2013 in my diary. 🙂