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I'm course building and marshalling, so I'll be there but no racing.

As you managed to deduce from my diagram, it's in the north-west half of the park, unfortunately the rest is off limits to us.

Where to buy a roll of shock cord from in central London?

oh yeah, somehow missed that. Will have to succumb and pay them some money now. Assume that'll show up on a map, and not just the cue sheet?

Will the POI I am adding to a tour route on RidewithGPS show up on my Garmin?

I think I only ever used the XM in thick mud and didn't really rate them in that, so perhaps they are more of an all rounder. Good in a straight line but I had trouble getting around corners.

XM is a proper mud tyre. I think the XG is the classic cyclocross intermediate chevron tread. The XL is a really good tyre too, but better saved for mud.

it begins!

A blocky intermediate will be more useful across the course of the season. I was using Specialized Tracers for most of last year, with the exception of a few races where the full-on mud tyres came out.

XNs are a bit narrow if you ask me. Okay for road riding with the odd off-road jaunt, but for racing you have to run them with too much pressure.

I don't usually bother with file treads. There generally aren't enough races (at least in the proper cross season) where they're enough of a advantage to justify the cost (and hassle) of switching tyres.

Magnet is the one. Dunno why I didn't think of pulling that out of my bag. Fits the Alpkit straps perfectly too.

ESI's what I've been recommended. Yet to purchase though.

How do you secure the camelbak hose if it's running out of a framebag? At the moment it's tucked into my bar bag strapping, is there an "official" bar clip?

Did I spot this at the tea hut in Epping last weekend?

Who did I spot on Kynaston Road this morning in a SSCXEU Brighton shirt?

Anything to better the Etrex 20x for touring? Looking for something with good battery life as well as replaceable batteries, as well as a relatively simple interface.

Trains look okay at the moment.

There's definitely water at the pavilion down by the finish line they use for the cross races. I think it's usually open. I didn't die drinking it a few months ago.

That's the plan, provided Southern Rail don't complicate things.

Done any of these longer races before? You should do fine given all your riding lately. Just make sure to eat regularly.

yeah, I'm in. It's a good race. Serious amount of climbing though.

Regents Park or Hyde Park

Not really enough terrain of any interest in those Victorian parks though: it's all decorative gardens and avenues with little in the way of elevation change.

Always thought the Olympic Park would make a good venue, but there's not a chance a local race would get permission to ride up those banks of wildflowers. Hopefully money talks and this'll get the go-ahead. A permanent, or semi-permanent, cross course in London would be amazing. Shame they didn't think about that during the consultation period.

Is this stuff rust? Maybe it's pitting? There was no real evidence of your typical orange rust when I sanded back the paint. Seems hard to shift. Funnily enough, the steel is really clean beneath stickers.

thinking about it. Big speed differences between the road sections and the rideable bits of the climbs don't make it all that suitable. That being said, someone's done it in 3.40 on a singlespeed, which is probably quicker than I'd manage on gears.

Will compile my usual calendar across all the local (to London) leagues soon too, as they're all provisionally announced now.

I got into the 3 Peaks this year, anyone else?

Any design tips for a custom Alpkit framebag? looking to carry a hydration bladder rather than bottles. It's a big frame so should be plenty of storage space. Best to go as narrow as possible (4cm) to avoid rubbing?

A short travel full suspension bike would be the perfect bike for the SDW.

I've done it on a cross bike. It might be marginally faster across the terrain but after riding a bike for 10 hours comfort's pretty important.

Summer Cross dates appeared here yet?

Round 1: Thu 20/07 - Leyton Jubilee Park
Round 2: Thu 27/07 - Frylands Scout Camp
Round 3: Thu 03/08 - Beckenham Place Park
Round 4: Thu 10/08 - Herne Hill

We're co-hosting the first round. Can't promise the same ground conditions that made the race so great there in the winter, but we'll be trying to favour the proper cross riders by making you jump on and off your bike as much as possible.

I'm going to put together a calendar of races easily accessible by train from London too.