2014-06-01 Reverse Tour De France Stage 3

Also, I'd like advice on wether we should find the fastest way out of London to Epping to get onto the nice bit as quickly as possible or if we should stick honestly to the route meandering around East London before heading North. What would people prefer?

I'd prefer just to meet somewhere in the City and head straight towards Hackney Downs / Clapton Road, getting out of the city as soon as possible. No point (imho) in meandering around Stratford etc, you can do that any time you want. It adds an extra 35km or so onto the ride which will just be trafficky and time consuming in a bad way.