Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Is this a Long Distance ride?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunwich_Dynamo

120 miles. Overnight. I can't believe I've agreed to do this next weekend. I've never ridden that far, never ridden in the dark and don't have reflective clothing and lights (will get these).

Am I nuts?

Any one that rides 120 miles in one day is nuts with a sore butt.
Get some good lights.

Any one that rides 120 miles in one day is nuts with a sore butt.
Get some good lights.

it sounded like a bit of an adventure when it was suggested to me. then i called around and got a couple others to do it and I bet they are cursing me now.

Fixing flats in the dark is so fun.

oh noes. i hadn't even considered that. i also thought of something else. If i put rear lights on the seat post where am i going to put the saddle bag. also i have a bike that doesn't take racks. i think i might just wear 2 jerseys so i have a double set of pockets. It is overnight after all so it is going to get cooler so extra layer would be a good idea in any case.

How will you keep warm if it rains?

Seat post rack is what I use.

Two bottles, rain jacket, tire repair bag, pump, two tail lights

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/RainJacket.jpg


http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/10kDay018.jpg

I love riding at night. Get a battery powered helmet light in case of flats and to navigate with.

Whatever lights you have, try them out for a good while before you set off on a long ride. You can have problems with stuff like lights vibrating loose or just not being bright enough, and it's aggravating to be stuck in the dark trying to fix stuff. If your lights are battery powered, be sure to have extra batteriess.

The local rando club requires 2- taillights, and I have them mounted on my rack. A lot of rando people have them mounted on the rear stays, the strut that goes from seatpost back to the rear axle, which avoids the issue of being blocked by the rack. Some people have lights on the rear of their helmet as well.

that's a really good point about testing the lights. I didn't discover I had a defect in one of my lights before I went through 24 hours of batteries in less than 3 hours. Since I really needed that light to last for 6 hours, that was not a good thing. It also rained and my backup light failed, so I was reduced to riding behind people and using my helmet light.

Am I nuts?

Yes, you are nuts! :-) However no more nuts than many others on this forum.

Did the Dunwich Dynamo myself back in 2007 and, other than it totally throwing it down with rain for about the middle third of the ride it was great fun. I'd do it again, but I don't live nearly close enough to consider it these days.

Recently installed a Planet bike blinky on my bent seat, to my surprise a slightly nasty RR crossing popped the case of the light apart
and the light and batteries went flying. Found them with a few minutes search, and now have a stout rubber band around the
case. At night rough spots are harder to avoid and finding lost parts even more problematic. Ditto same experience, different light
on friends tandem. Helmet mount light is extremely useful in addition to handlebar mount, it goes where you point your head, not
your bike and is useful for bike repair, finding stuff in your bag, or map/road sign reading. Seat post rack also serves as handy
fender for wet roads, keeping wheel spray off your back.

Seat post racks ok on carbon seat posts? Or is that post just carbon wrapped aluminum? I've been looking at getting one, but wasn't sure if it'd be ok.


Helmet mounted tail-light puts the light up high, so that's a good spot for a second light.

Some type of helmet mounted headlight... even if dim... will allow you to change a flat, or atleast it will appear to flash when you look at people/cars. Should grab their attention. Just don't annoy the crap out of other riders by blinding them :D

120 ain't bad. Plenty of people do 100mi charity rides. Riding at night should offset the extra 20mi ;)
It sounds like a lot of fun. I always ride day-time long rides, and 20-25mi at night.... maybe I should switch it up sometime.

Seat post racks ok on carbon seat posts? Or is that post just carbon wrapped aluminum? I've been looking at getting one, but wasn't sure if it'd be ok...

If you ask the manufacturer they will say no because of liability issues. I've been using a seatpost mounted rack on my Colnago C-50 on brevets for years. It's important to use a plastic shim between the metal clamp on the rack and the carbon post and be sure that you do not over tighten it. I only tighten it enough so that it does not move easily. If you are careful and take the proper precautions it shouldn't be a problem.

Yes, you are nuts! :-) However no more nuts than many others on this forum.

Did the Dunwich Dynamo myself back in 2007 and, other than it totally throwing it down with rain for about the middle third of the ride it was great fun. I'd do it again, but I don't live nearly close enough to consider it these days.

that's a reassuring feedback. I'm actually a bit afraid because I have this image of me losing touch with others and being lost in the dark unlit country lanes. I don't think it will happen thought because there were 1,000 riders last year and with the weather being good this year probably more will show up. I also heard it is a very flat ride so there is less chance of the fast and slow being spread out as much and being in the dark i imagine no one will really ride fast and break up the field. Still fearful though.

good idea about checking the lights out before to see if they are bright enough. the problem is that nowhere in town is anywhere near dark enough compared to the unlit countryside.

I've got myself some reflective vest and strips for the legs. I'm going to carry a little rucksack to carry a some sandles to walk on after the ride and some regular shorts. just a little rucksack should be alright. I might as well remove the saddle bag and put those things in the rucksack too and put the light n the seat post. As a one off ride, i think that's ok. I looked at a few youtubes to see what people were carrying and it didn't seem too bad.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VT3JBgNZjE

Lights can be frustrating. A fairly dim light can work fine under the right conditions. If you get where it's brightly lit, or have lots of oncoming cars, then you can't hardly tell your light is on, though, and when you ride into a shadow, you can't see a thing. Low contrast roads can mean you see a big bright lit-up area but can't see bumps in the road. Or you get one big dot of light on the road but can't see the stop sign off to the side. The last problem I had, though, was my light vibrating loose and having to be retightened, at a time when I was having trouble seeing, period. Anyway, the more you can test it beforehand, the better.

Manufacturers will tell you how long the light runs on a charge or on fresh batteries, but don't tell you how dim it gets before that point, so my comment on the batteries means, take more than what you think you'll need.

There's been some discussion on the racks on carbon seatposts, with several people claiming it ought not be done, and others doing it and it works just fine. Haven't tried it myself.

all ready to go

sorted out lights (handle bar, seatpost and headstrap mounted), reflective vest, refelective velcro strips, back pack full of gels, muesli bars and bananas, big bottle of water, usual saddle bag tools for regular rides, mini pump, spare batteries, leg warmers, thin wind/rain jacket, 2 jerseys (one long one short sleeve), base layer, shorts

What else could I possibly need for an overnight ride. Fingers crossed the stormy weather doesn't come in.

A great deal of bike accidents occur during dusk when the sun is just over the horizon. Even though light conditions are favorable, I always ride with my bike light on during those times as well as in complete darkness. Just to assist drivers that have the "sun in their eyes" in seeing I'm on the road.

A great deal of bike accidents occur during dusk when the sun is just over the horizon. Even though light conditions are favorable, I always ride with my bike light on during those times as well as in complete darkness. Just to assist drivers that have the "sun in their eyes" in seeing I'm on the road.

that's a good point. sun in eyes is more dangerous than darkness.

just thought I would finalise this thread

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?665830-Dunwich-Dynamo.What-a-terrific-ride....for-nutcases-like-me.

thanks for the report