Here’s a map of the route http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=208766709074175187430.0004a8050f19c52194226&msa=0

As the route goes through mostly rural Suffolk, it may be useful for people to be aware that there will be a lot of tired and wobbly cyclists on the roads late at night and early Sunday morning and that any courtesy and encouragement people can give them is welcome.

A cycle club uses the village hall at Sible Hedingham as a feeding station (last year it served over 2000 bacon butties) and over the years other impromptu ones have popped up in Suffolk offering cakes, soup and coffee etc. Unfortunately the opposite has, at times, been the case with harassment when the route passed some pubs.

Apparently some riders this year will attempt it on Boris Bikes, paying a £50 hire charge for the privilege! Last year an ice cream cart and a penny-farthing made it successfully. It’s quite impressive and somewhat eerie to see Dunwich Beach at dawn on Sunday littered with the bodies of exhausted cyclists, although the tea room opens at 4 am for them, the queue soon becomes a very long wait. Now local businesses are waking up to this friendly invasion, the Ship Inn will be open early and the café/post office at Yoxford is offering a shuttle service to a full English.

Nat Bocking