I spent most of Saturday night and Sunday morning cycling from London to Dunwich and it was great. Older cycling columnists talk about “the fellowship of the wheel” but since most of my cycling is solo I don’t see much evidence of it, however it was there in spades on the Dynamo.
Firstly the start in London Fields was a veritable orgy of road bikes. I was amazed by the number of single-speed bikes (both fixed and free) planning to attempt the 120 mile ride. Cycling fashion in all it’s guises was represented – what is it about fixed gear riders and chinstrap beards? One guy wearing a pitch helmet – not a great idea for cycling around north London (or “bandit country” as the route map described it) another who’d taken the sleeves off a tweed jacket to create a sort of tweed gilet.
One of the things I liked most about the ride was the lack of overbearing organisation – no marshals, no official start time, no sponsorship just a photocopied A4 sheet describing the route (they’d run out by the time I went to get one) and a tea light in a jam jar to mark the first 60 miles of the route.
The weather was perfect and cycling through the back roads of Essex, flanked by cornfields with the sun setting and only the hum of tyres on tarmac was a sublime experience.
The ride, for me broke down as follows
0 – 30 We set off early which was definitely a good move. Although we were taking it very easy, it was nice to bag 30 miles without even breaking a sweat.
30 – 55 Our initial group started to fragment and I pressed on with a couple of strong, younger riders. As we left Epping Forest for the Essex countryside, the roads narrowed, the traffic thinned and the sun was setting properly. I was starting to worry about the bike being a little over-geared. I found myself frequently in the 42x21 (the bike’s lowest gear) and lagging on the short climbs.
55 – 68 This was probably the toughest part of the ride for me. Having started fairly early, there weren’t lots of riders on the road. And when there were, it was just small groups of 3 or 4. Occasionally I’d draft behind some and stick with them for a few miles, usually getting dropped on the climbs. There was an interesting incident – a family of four waving at everyone from a mini-roundabout at 11.30pm. With the pubs closed, traffic light and for much of this stretch I was riding alone and without the reassurance of a blinking tail light ahead of me. It also suddenly dawned on me that I was freezing cold. Trousers a long sleeve jacket and five minutes out of the saddle restored me. I arrived at the “lunch stop” at 1am, 15 minutes after the first pair from our gang. A brightly lit, spanking new village hall filled with cyclist clacking around the floor on cleated shoes awaited
68 – 90 We set off again as a group at 2.30am and within a few miles had fragmented into smaller groups each riding at it’s own pace. Most commented on how putting the “lunch stop” beyond the mid way point gave a good psychological advantage. As dawn started to break we were again swooping through traffic-free back roads
90 – 100 This was another tough part. I had set off for the second leg telling myself that I’d stop at least twice. Whilst the sun rise and conversation kept my mind away from thinking about stopping too much, I was starting to will the miles away.
100 – 120 A group of about 10 riders formed all intent on finishing the ride. There wasn’t so much chatted now, just an eagerness to get the ride over with. Dunwich was signposted from 7 miles out and aside from one tricky section with very loose stone chippings the roads were reasonably smooth.
This was rapidly followed by a superb fry up at the Dunwich beach-side café and a snooze on the beach before the transport to take us home arrived.
Here’s a few links to various bits and pieces
An animated route map charting our progress
http://bbarker.co.uk/animate/test.php?multiplier=1000
Someone created a nice video which captures the feel of the event
http://www.yournews.itvlocal.com/Clip.aspx?key=495EF5005A3E5395
And there are some photos of our gang
http://bbarker.co.uk/photography/Dynamo_2008/
Firstly the start in London Fields was a veritable orgy of road bikes. I was amazed by the number of single-speed bikes (both fixed and free) planning to attempt the 120 mile ride. Cycling fashion in all it’s guises was represented – what is it about fixed gear riders and chinstrap beards? One guy wearing a pitch helmet – not a great idea for cycling around north London (or “bandit country” as the route map described it) another who’d taken the sleeves off a tweed jacket to create a sort of tweed gilet.
One of the things I liked most about the ride was the lack of overbearing organisation – no marshals, no official start time, no sponsorship just a photocopied A4 sheet describing the route (they’d run out by the time I went to get one) and a tea light in a jam jar to mark the first 60 miles of the route.
The weather was perfect and cycling through the back roads of Essex, flanked by cornfields with the sun setting and only the hum of tyres on tarmac was a sublime experience.
The ride, for me broke down as follows
0 – 30 We set off early which was definitely a good move. Although we were taking it very easy, it was nice to bag 30 miles without even breaking a sweat.
30 – 55 Our initial group started to fragment and I pressed on with a couple of strong, younger riders. As we left Epping Forest for the Essex countryside, the roads narrowed, the traffic thinned and the sun was setting properly. I was starting to worry about the bike being a little over-geared. I found myself frequently in the 42x21 (the bike’s lowest gear) and lagging on the short climbs.
55 – 68 This was probably the toughest part of the ride for me. Having started fairly early, there weren’t lots of riders on the road. And when there were, it was just small groups of 3 or 4. Occasionally I’d draft behind some and stick with them for a few miles, usually getting dropped on the climbs. There was an interesting incident – a family of four waving at everyone from a mini-roundabout at 11.30pm. With the pubs closed, traffic light and for much of this stretch I was riding alone and without the reassurance of a blinking tail light ahead of me. It also suddenly dawned on me that I was freezing cold. Trousers a long sleeve jacket and five minutes out of the saddle restored me. I arrived at the “lunch stop” at 1am, 15 minutes after the first pair from our gang. A brightly lit, spanking new village hall filled with cyclist clacking around the floor on cleated shoes awaited
68 – 90 We set off again as a group at 2.30am and within a few miles had fragmented into smaller groups each riding at it’s own pace. Most commented on how putting the “lunch stop” beyond the mid way point gave a good psychological advantage. As dawn started to break we were again swooping through traffic-free back roads
90 – 100 This was another tough part. I had set off for the second leg telling myself that I’d stop at least twice. Whilst the sun rise and conversation kept my mind away from thinking about stopping too much, I was starting to will the miles away.
100 – 120 A group of about 10 riders formed all intent on finishing the ride. There wasn’t so much chatted now, just an eagerness to get the ride over with. Dunwich was signposted from 7 miles out and aside from one tricky section with very loose stone chippings the roads were reasonably smooth.
This was rapidly followed by a superb fry up at the Dunwich beach-side café and a snooze on the beach before the transport to take us home arrived.
Here’s a few links to various bits and pieces
An animated route map charting our progress
http://bbarker.co.uk/animate/test.php?multiplier=1000
Someone created a nice video which captures the feel of the event
http://www.yournews.itvlocal.com/Clip.aspx?key=495EF5005A3E5395
And there are some photos of our gang
http://bbarker.co.uk/photography/Dynamo_2008/
and some more here
http://picasaweb.google.com/chris.ruggio/DunwichDynamoXVI
http://picasaweb.google.com/chris.ruggio/DunwichDynamoXVI
