This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Ethel, you're so far west that there's no point going to the canal/river towpath first. That's just a detour. The best way of getting into the Isle of Dogs is via Narrow Street. There are lots and lots of possible routes you could take to get there, so this is just a suggestion:

Ride through Clissold Park--Clissold Road--Albion Grove--Shakspeare Walk--Allen Road--Wordsworth Road--Boleyn Road--A10 Kingsland High Street--Forest Road--Forest Grove--Celandine Road--Middleton Road--B108 Queensbridge Road--Haggerston Park--cross A1208 Hackney Road opposite Columbia Road--Ion Square Gardens--Durant Street--Old Bethnal Green Road--Pollard Row--across A1209 Bethnal Green Road into Hague Street--Derbyshire Street--Weaver's Fields--Dunbridge Street--Brady Street--cross A11 Whitechapel Road into Cavell Street--Ford Square--Clark Street--Jubilee Street--cross A13 Commercial Road into Sutton Street--B126 Cable Street--cross Butcher Row into St James Gardens--Horseferry Road (caution: daft contraflow on the wrong side of the street)--Narrow Street (acute danger of being leafleted by Tower Hamlets Wheelers :) )--A1206 Westferry Road (no point in following the Cycle 'Superhighway' here, as it doesn't lead you where you want to go)--Westferry Circus--Marsh Wall--Mastmaker Road--Lighterman's Road--Millharbour--Pepper Street.

Sounds convoluted, I know, but if you want to avoid main streets this is not a bad route. There are some short, busy stretches and crossings of main streets but they are, by and large, unavoidable. You can, of course, take main streets to get to Cable Street and the Butcher Row crossing if you're not confident of finding your way. Most of the north side of the Isle of Dogs is, unfortunately, cut off by the A1261 Aspen Way, which together with being stranded on the A102(M) was probably the main cause of your poor journey experience, so the crucial thing is to get to the IoD from the west.

Hope your next commute is more enjoyable!