The first time was so nice, I had to do it twice. It didn’t hurt that my other bike had a cracked frame either. For the second year in a row I took the fixed gear commuter bike on the ride to Dunwich, and there were a few bits I jotted down you might be interested in. You’ll have to forgive me not having many snaps.
The new feed station at Sudbury fire station was really good
The Dun Run is among the best catered event of its kind in the British Isles. This year there was a new feed station which was a fundraiser for the Firefighters Charity, operated by Sudbury Fire and Rescue who do quite a few fundraisers using their very spacious HQ.
I think this was the best such station on the route. At 96km out of 180 on my route, it was a great spot for a hot bowl of chili and a sandwich the crew very kindly wrapped in tissue paper for me. According to their instagram they started work at 2100 and didn’t close until 0400. Good drills! I expect they are still counting their takings but I’m sure it added up to a fair chunk.
I did stop a few times this year, but as usual I lingered for a long time at the last stop in Gosbeck. I don’t see any reason to turn up to the beach before daylight and it was getting cooler I just put the down jacket on and sunk some delicious coffees for a bit, arriving at Dunwich Beach at around 0505.
The intro part is still quite grim
There’s not a lot that can help this but the start of the ride is pretty gnarly. The bits over the Lea River and as far as Epping Forest are OK, but from all the way out to Suffolk, it is not nice going. For better or worse you get long lines of cyclists in strung out groups, and even if most drivers are patient there are inevitably some who lose their heads and drive unbelievably dangerously. I don’t really want to start ‘cheating’ and getting the train to places to skip this bit of the ride but I wouldn’t blame anyone for doing so. For the remainder of the ride it felt much better.
The Finchingfield climb is my favourite bit
I don’t stop at pubs normally on the DD, but one that is very popular is in Finchingfield village just before a punchy but short climb. This is perfect for the fixed rider as you can still see the road surface and the climb coming, so you can get some speed up to blast your way up the hill which was tremendous fun. And it doesn’t hurt that you feel like a heap of people are watching you drill it up the hill.
The beach is stonier than I remember, though it may have been the tide
I celebrated my arrival with a dunk in the sea. However I think the beach was much stonier and more painful to walk on than my one last year. I think I came a bit later relative to the tide than I did in 2024, so with more rocks and pebbles and less sand i had to brave it over. Still a great dip but I could have done with some sliders or jelly shoes.
I’m still not tempted to ride back
A few hard nuts will ride home but by the time it’s gone 5am all of the feed stops will be shut. I have a lot of respect for people who keep plugging away after but it just isn’t for me. At least, not with this bike. Seeing people sitting down, wrapped in foil blankets trying to hype themselves up to get back on the horde just didn’t do it for me at all. Certainly not by the time I’d cracked my finish line IPA open.
I will be back
I wasn’t dead set on doing the DD – I had a lot of misgivings about potentially being very tired in the days after and maybe I’d rather do something else. I am still a bit snoozy from it, publishing this on Monday evening, but I still had an amazing time and plan on being back for 2026. See you on the beach!
Last years write-up: https://calumonwheels.com/2024/07/22/fixedgeardunrun2024/
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