I had a similar commute - from Leytonstone down to Liverpool Street. Mile End road is horrible, especially with the huge bendy buses (the 25?) with the drivers

I had a similar commute - from Leytonstone down to Liverpool Street. Mile End road is horrible, especially with the huge bendy buses (the 25?) with the drivers whose mission was to flatten as many cyclists as possible. I used to have early starts and needed to be in the office at 6:45, the adrenaline rush was very effective in going from sleepy to wide awake and terrified. There are actually some nice commutes from East London through to the city. The best ones involve the Grand Union canal or cycling through Victoria park.