The Dunwich Dynamo is one of London's annual cycling events. Starting from London Fields in Hackney, cyclists on a July evening each year head out through Waltham Forest, past Epping, into Essex and then Suffolk until they reach the coast. That's 116 miles of riding. Through the night.
It was originally ridden by some crazy courier types. But it's been semi-organised for years now. In 2009, I did it for the first time.
The Dynamo is not to be taken lightly (despite the people on clown bikes, penny farthings and in jeans rather than lycra). I found it tough - particularly just after the 3 am feed stop in a specially opened village hall. Riding through the darkest, coldest hours, I had every layer I'd brought on, and was still chilly. I thought I wouldn't make it.
And that, perversely, is the brilliance of the Dynamo. Just when you're at low ebb (well, in the case of most "normal" cyclists, for whom 116 miles is a long way), the horizon pinks up and slowly the sun appears.
It's a very emotional moment - the night is filled with chatting riders helping each other through the end of the toughest bit mentally. After the sun came up, despite it starting to drizzle, I knew I'd made it.
Because the Dynamo is tough at times, it feels like a real adventure. A feel reinforced by finally arriving at the sea. Cyclists asleep under overturned boats. Swimming in the freezing cold waters to wake up. A massive fry up on the beach. It's a brilliant way to top off the event.
Then it's coaches back to central London and the excruciating few miles from there on tired legs and soggy shorts home.
Will I be on the Dynamo next year? Hell, yes.
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