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Balders
@Greenbank
Yup, anti-clockwise.
Just got to look out for the Police. Most of the places to go fast going anti-clockwise aren't suitable places for the Police to stop people (e.g. the descent of Broomfield Hill between Kingston and Robin Hood Gates) so the Police tend not to hang around there. Sawyer's Hill (from Richmond towards the roundabout for Sheen gate) has good sight lines so they tend to lurk there most of the time.
In my experience they'll usually ignore cyclists sitting up and not pedalling but still going >20mph. They tend to only go for the people in a tuck and pushing hard for the extra speed. But then they could still grab you if they wanted to, the only safe way not to get pulled is to not go over 20mph (boring).
Start anywhere, makes no real difference to the time. Just do 3 full laps.
Weekday between 7.30am and 9.30am and it'll be traffic that can seriously hold you back, not sure about the evening timings but guess it matches the usual rush hour(s).
Weekends can be a bun fight in the park but it's less hassle than weekday rush hour. I tend to do my laps 11-2pm during a weekday as I only work 4 days.
In the summer it's lovely getting there early (e.g. 5am just after sunrise).
After dark is great but beware suicidal badgers and deer. The after dark runners in the park aren't always well lit, but it's your job to have good enough lights to spot them and avoid them anyway.