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A saw I few familiar faces on the Dunwich Dynamo last night. I still can't quite put my finger on why the DD is such a bloody superb, almost quasi spiritual event. It really is superb - a total antidote to the rubbish of modernity and events with millions of rules, marshals and assorted other rubbish.
Did anyone else ride last night?
I did!
I'm so pleased to read it's still going. I did it for a few years in the 00s, this post triggered a random memory of fixing a flat by feeble head torch in the rain and seeing the biggest spider ever.
Did it back in 2011 before children arrived and have a hankering to do it again. Agreed, such a great, surreal and strangely old fashioned event, love that it's still going strong.
That fry-up on the beach at the end, oh man, not sure any other food has ever hit the spot quite so hard.
I really regret never doing the Dunwich Dynamo when I lived in London, always seems like a super nice, low key, non competitive event. Maybe one day...
I've done it quite a few times. Not for a few years. The logistics got a bit more tricky when Greater Anglia finally got fed up of hundreds of cyclists taking the piss at stations and they outright banned all bike travel on their trains that weekend.
I really regret never doing the Dunwich Dynamo when I lived in London, always seems like a super nice, low key, non competitive event. Maybe one day...
I have done it just once and although I am unlikely to do it a second time because those sort of distances no longer appeal to me (about the last 30 miles in daylight seemed to go on for ever) I think every keen cyclist should give it a go.
It is a totally unique experience from the thousands of flickering red lights snaking through night time country lanes to the party atmosphere and amazing refreshment stops in the most bizarre places. Definitely something to include in your bucket list!
On the subject of Great Anglia and cyclists 'taking the piss' on the Dunwich weekend, the whole spirit and 'can do' of the event made me think even more about how actually Great Anglia are the ones who are 'taking the piss'. A mad idea for them... they could just put on 2 or 3 special trains, selling tickets for £50 a pop in advance, going straight back to London using some old rolling stock. Crazy idea isn't it?
But of course it would never happen in 21st century Britain. There would be a committee of people looking for reasons why it wouldn't work, it would be impossible to find a spare train, the guards would complain that some passengers were carrying dangerous CO2 canisters in their pockets, the drivers would need to be paid £1000000 to work on a Sunday. It would just all be too unreasonable.
Didn't do it this year, but the event is pretty special, although I can't really recommend doing it on a Brompton if you value your backside 🙂
If you're keen to do a lower key night ride, check out https://www.thefridays.cc/
A mad idea for them... they could just put on 2 or 3 special trains, selling tickets for £50 a pop in advance, going straight back to London using some old rolling stock. Crazy idea isn't it?
But of course it would never happen in 21st century Britain. There would be a committee of people looking for reasons why it wouldn't work, it would be impossible to find a spare train,
I can tell you exactly that.
No train company has "spare" rolling stock lying around the place, especially not set up to carry hundreds of extra bikes. Guards Vans simply don't exist anymore.
There is no space in the timetabling to "just" run a load of extra services. Partly because there's no headway on the line itself, partly because there's no additional platform space in London Liverpool Street.
Many years ago, they used to accommodate booked bikes to the best of their ability but when hundreds of riders were turning up en masse and just barging onto any old train, ramming bikes in any old how, it became a serious public safety issue. So yes, it was very much riders taking the piss.
Nahhh.... don't buy it sorry. It's just not that much of a complicated problem, particularly on a Sunday when there aren't that many trains anyway. It's just the train company aren't interested in solving it or being helpful. A couple of good wagons would do the job for the bicycles.
You really have to wonder how the country functioned during events like the war don't you? And that's from a leftwing millennial.
A couple of good wagons would do the job for the bicycles.
No ****ing way am I having my bike chucked in a goods van with hundreds of others.
This is definitely on my bucket list. Logistics are an issue, but I stayed nearby a couple of weeks ago, I could stay there, get a lift in to the start, then it's just a few flat miles back to the accommodation
A couple of good wagons would do the job for the bicycles.
Greater Anglia don't own any goods wagons and they wouldn't connect to a normal train anyway. Plus, as mentioned ^^, the issue of unsecured bicycles being chucked into something not remotely designed or intended to hold that kind of stuff.
Sorry - there's 1001 reasons why it's very much a complicated problem. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it too but it cannot work with the current system.
They tried to make it work for a few years (to some extent) and if it was 40 riders you could probably get away with it across 4 existing trains with a bit of goodwill but 400+ who might want to go back to London...? No chance.
No ****ing way am I having my bike chucked in a goods van with hundreds of others.
That's what happened to mine (alright, it was a removal wagon) when I did it in 2019(?) and I used the arranged coaches for the way back. They used loads of cardboard between the bikes, it was fine.
Great event, still my longest ever ride. I keep meaning to do one of the Fridays rides, but it never seems to work out
I used the arranged coaches for the way back.
Yeah me too
https://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/product/dunwich-dynamo-2025/
I was there for my 4th Dun Run this year - there was a 13 year gap* since my last and I'd forgotten how special an event it is.
Conditions couldn't have been much better really - the forecast headwind never seemed to appear, and apart from a few colder dips, the temps stayed in the mid-teens. The roads out of London had improved massively since I last rode it, I remember it being mayhem, but the new cycle lanes have made a huge difference. Only saw one hostile driver, I could hear their permanently pressed horn approaching from behind as they overtook the huge line of cyclists through High Roding, and it was still going as the car disappeared into the distance. This was around 11pm, so prob disturbing all the residents. There seemed to be lots more supporters out in the streets cheering us on than I remembered from previous years.
Got to the beach well before the cafe opened, but the pub were doing breakfast butties, which with a strong coffee, did the job just nicely. The 30mile ride home was a bit of a chore and I'm still a bit spacey due to lack of sleep now, but I'll def be back again.
*mainly due to train logistics making it hard to get to the start
Anyway - we've lost track of what we were talking about. Just a fantastic event. Chapeau to all that did it and see you next year.
You could get a local scout group on to providing coaches and lorries, as per RideToTheSun.
done it a few times. Conditions this year looked perfect but l had a race instead. Rode it on my Brompton one year so I could catch the train home. 100 miles and heatstroke yesterday meant l was ruing my choices!