Cycle the Underground,overground,wombling free,making a tube map for a poster for me

@ 5awyer, yep garmin Basecamp one was of the first tips I was given, by Freezing77, but the maps are pretty clunky, and as you say, not very pretty.
@Chamonix Mt Blanc, I've got very little experience riding in any cities other than London, so its got to be London for me. Maybe try asking in the any question answer thread.
@And cheers Nic, yeah I've not looked at Biketoaster, I will check it out. And I've never even heard of MATLAB, but even that simple trace looks pretty good, cheers, good work.
@big thanks to Chebeef who sent me some cool things to play with. Once I've done the route for the next line I'll PM you, be great to have you along, and I'm happy to try and work around your availability. The end of this week is looking unlikely now, so maybe next week?

Despite all this digital talk, today I'm still very much stuck in the analogue version, its been like Blue Peter, and I'm loving it. This morning I went out and bought some felt tip pens and sellotape

And ripped apart my A-Z's to give me an idea of scale. I had to move bikes and furniture around and have'nt properly aligned the pages, but as a guide it looks like this: over 7 feet wide by about 6 feet high.

If I'm spending a day or two reliving my childhood with scissors, sellotape and colouring in, then there's a crucial ingredient missing. Yes you guessed it, sweets. So after brunch I popped out to the nearest pick'n'mix I could find, and voila

Hell yeah! Its been a while since I purchased any of that stuff. It was on the news yesterday about how low inflation was, well I can confirm I noticed a MASSIVE jump in inflation since I last bought a pick'n'mix. That little lot cost £4. Totally worth it, that should keep me as hyper as 5 year old for the colouring in stage. I've got to stop there for the day but tomorrow I'm getting those pages properly aligned and taped, then I'm colouring in the lines I've done already. I am excited.

And all this childhood excitement is great for the creative juices, which are flooding out of me today. I've don't think I've ever written a song in my life, but I did today. Its called Pothole Wizard and I've written it to them theme of the Who's Pinball Wizard, so have that music in mind as you read the following:

Ever since he was a young boy
He played with bicycles
From Soho down to Brighton
He must have seen them all
I'm sure I've just seem him
Whizzing down the Mall
That single speeded blue fleet
Sure can dodge potholes riff riff riff riff

Astride his trusty Mercian
He's part of the machine
Weaving through the bumpers
So fast he's barely seen
He rides on intuition
He rarely has a fall
That single speeded blue fleet
Sure can dodge potholes riff riff riff riff

A navigational wizard
On Tunnocks he depends
He does'nt wear a helmet
Which doesnt win him friends
He's never owned any dayglo
Yet still has'nt met his end

He's used to the distractions
The sirens and the smells
That amber light was flashing
To the officer he yells
He always has a quick retort
To the car driving proles
That single speeded blue fleet
Sure can dodge potholes riff riff riff riff

Weaving through the city atop an 853
Wishing he had 25's instead of 23's
So much city riding you think that he'd be glum
Only had one puncture and not ruptured his plums

Riding out to Amersham,
That day was a test
Miles into the country
He barely had a rest
He's given no one the finger
800 miles and not one fall
That single speeded blue fleet
Sure can dodge potholes riff riff riff riff

I may have already had too many sweets, I think someone may need to phone my parents.......