Unfortunately the two best Tri shops are out in the suburbs - Sigma Sports in Kingston (South West London) - http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/ and TriandRun in North East London - www.triandrun.co.uk/.

Bike shops and running shops depend on what you want - you have a variety to choose from.

If you are going to Sherborne, you could go and visit TriUK - http://www.triuk.com/ - which is just nearby in Yeovil. Their new store is claimed to be the largest Triathlon Store in the World and co-incidently they are involved in the IronmanUK organisation. The shop has only just opened so I haven't had a chance to see it yet.

Is it easy to get to Kingston or North East London? Would it be easy to find if I take the Tube or would I need to take a taxi or rent a car?

I'd love to check out TriUK - how hard is it to get to Yeovil?

Thanks

I can recommend Sigma Sport, of Hampton, as the top bike shop in London. It's not particularly close to Hyde park but jump on the tube and get off at Hampton Wick and you've a 3 min walk. As for running shops 10 mins walk from Sigma is the Sweatshop in Teddington again an excellent shop. Both are well stocked with lots of quality goodies and staffed by knowledgable staff who all compete. Check out their websites www.sigmasport.co.uk and www.sweatshop.co.uk

You will find there are no bike/run shops near Hyde Park, nor will you find better shops.

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

>>I'd love to check out TriUK - how hard is it to get to Yeovil?

Yevoil is 135 miles away from London. You can go there by train - check the site http://www.networkrail.co.uk/

However, I will recommend that you hire a car and drive there. If you don't use motorways but going down south via A and B roads it is absolutely beautiful area to go through. If you make a whole day or even a weekend out of it then you can also visit Bath - not too far from Yeovil. A beautiful place to visit, fantastic architecture, excellent restaurants and places to see. It also have a very professional triathlon shop - Total Fitness Bath. This shop is very small, but runs one of the most successful elite triathlon teams in the UK and have top end equipment.

Pluto

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Brian, if you are going to Sherborne to see the course Tri UK is 5 mins down the road in Yeovil but you will either need to check out a two or three change train trip or it's a motorway drive down from London (which will be easier to take the bike with you).

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

There's a Hertz car hire place, or used to be, near Marble Arch on Hyde Park. If you're going to visit Sherborne or Yeovil you'll need a car or you'll just waste too much time changing trains. London traffic is bad; so head out of town before 6.30am. Go down the M3 then A303 for the most scenic route and you'll be able to see Stonehenge on the way. Tri-Uk has a website also; so check that out first as if you get stuck in London traffic or lost on the M25 like some poeple, you might wish you'd stayed in bed.

www.streetmap.co.uk has good maps.

If you want to go to Triandrun, then to go by Tube, hop on the Central Line just north of Hyde Park (the red line) and you can take it all of the way to the tube stop for (hold on, let me get out my London A to Z)..... get off at Hainault (make sure you get on a train that is looping out to Hainault, some go to Epping, get on one going to Woodford. Go out the station at Hainault and turn left, walk about a half mile and Triandrun is on your right. They are pretty good. Running around Hyde Park is fun, i had a half hour loop when i lived there, did it a couple times for an hour run, 3 times for my long run. even did it 4 times when i was preparing for the amsterdam marathon. Watch out for horse poop and tourists at Speakers' Corner. Niketown in Oxford Circus has a Tuesday night run that is fun, some fast guys, including some French guy that hammers but only goes for 3 miles, I always did the 8 mile run that loops around Regents Park. I am getting jealous just thinking about cruising around London again, have fun!!

Geoff

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Geoffrey Nenninger

One Central London outfit that hasn't been mentioned is Cyclefit at Covent Garden (cyclefit.co.uk) - these guys formerly traded as Bikepark, a real top-end bike shop and secure bike parking place, with a major commitment to local cycle sport.

Last year I think things went bad, and they've relaunched primarily as a high-end fitting-only shop. Will be interesting to see if they can make this business model work - I know Tom's thought about this before. Hope it goes well for them - great guys who put a lot of effort into the local scene.