This month's Route of the Month is a classic Richmond Park ride based on the London Duathlon course. Richmond Park has always been a mecca for cyclists and runners - in fact the only bit of a triathlon you can't do inside the Park's walls is swim - even though Pen Ponds would seem to be a potential venue, were it not for all the wildlife...

Because of the up-coming London Duathlon on September 14th - the only day in the year that the Park is ever closed completely to traffic - we rode the route as though we were doing the duathlon so you get to almost all the hills in both directions. There has been much debate over the years as to which is the fastest way around - if you feel adventurous why don't you do it both ways and let us know!

Lap 1 - the first run

All the action starts at the Golf Club next to Roehampton Gate with the first loop (used as a run loop for the Duathlon) taking you from the roundabout straight up through the middle of the Park towards Richmond Gate. This is a long drag of a climb with a short respite as you hit the crossroads and then build into the second section which always seems to be much harder than it ought to be for such a little hill! From the top of the climb there's a short section of rollers to the roundabout where you turn left and continue up to the highest point just by the Pembroke Lodge car park.

There's now a great downhill section towards the Ham Gate crossroads where you'll make a left turn onto the road that leads towards Pen Ponds. This section is a bit narrower than the rest of the roads in the Park and on normal days you'll need to be aware of walkers and in-line skaters. At the Pen Ponds car park junction you make a right and drop down the hill to the roundabout at Robin Hood Gate where you rejoin the main road round the Park and turn left towards Roehampton Gate. This section is mostly flat with a small drag up in the middle but you can ride it without changing gear as long as you maintain your momentum.

Lap 2 and 3 - the bike

Once back to the Roehampton Gate roundabout you can loop 360 degrees and retrace your steps to the Robin Hood Gate roundabout as the first section of the two-lap main loop. At the roundabout go straight across and start the drag up to the beginning of the main climb at Broomfield Hill. As hills go this is not in the same league as those you'll find in the nearby Surrey countryside but it's still a big lump and you'll needs to work at the gears to maintain any kind of rhythm up it. It also has the characteristic of constantly increasing the slope as you progress so if you get the gears wrong at the bottom you'll be paying for it by the time you reach the left-hand bend half-way up... ...which is where it all starts to tighten up!

Once over the top you'll get a short recovery section heading into a little dip just after the car park and then another flat section across the top before you drop down the back of Test Hill to Kingston Gate. This is a fast descent and you need to remember that at the bottom is a roundabout where you make a right turn so do keep the speed in control and keep the inside pedal 'up' to avoid grounding it through the turn. Get this right and you'll shave seconds, get it wrong and you'll lose lots more!

The road now climbs towards Richmond Gate but with a big dip in the middle as you approach the Ham Gate roundabout. Your momentum should carry you through this, don't stop pedaling on the downhill because you'll be hitting the bottom of the long drag back up to Richmond Gate with no starting speed and that's definitely not the way to get a good time.

From Richmond Gate back down to Roehampton Gate is the fastest bit of the course and it's basically in a dead straight line so you can really let it rip. Cyclists have been known to be caught by the Parks Police radar traps down this section - although we hope that they won't be hiding in the trees on the left when you ride it.!

Once you are back at the Roehampton Gate roundabout you turn right and repeat this whole lap to complete the bike section.

Lap 4 - the second run

The second time you get back down to the Roehampton Gate roundabout you do a complete 360 degree turn and head back up the slope towards Richmond Gate, just as you did for the first run lap. This time. however, you make a left turn at the mini roundabout and head up towards White Lodge and Pen Ponds. There are some speed humps on this section and it does climb as well until you are through the trees when the road drops back down, first to the Pen Ponds car park and then again down to Robin Hood gate where you turn left for the last time and head back to the Roehampton Gate roundabout and the finish line.

Afterwards

There's no shortage of wonderful little coffee shops along the Upper Richmond Road and in Richmond itself - if you feel like trekking back up the long slope again! One great little addition to this ride is to exit through the Richmond Gate, turn left and drop down towards Ham making a right turn at the lights to bring you back to the foot of Richmond Hill. If you take the first right turn, by a big pub, there's a monster of a short, sharp climb back up to the top of the hill which brings you out by Mick Jagger's and Eric Clapton's houses - not that you'll be in any state to spend the time trying to work out which is which!! You can turn right and go back into the Park through Richmond Gate and carry on with the rest of the loop as before -- or just collapse into the little coffee shop just round the corner!

Alternatively, there's a gravel track that runs the whole way round the outside of the Park which is great for both a long run or an off-road circuit as long as your tyres are up to it. You don't need an MTB but we wouldn't suggest you took your best racer, it's more suited to a commuter bike or hybrid than a skinny tyred race machine.

The London Duathlon route was ridden for Tri247 by Annie Emmerson