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A great ride, well done.
I did this a few years back albeit we rode anticlockwise rather than the clockwise route you took.
Seeing as me and my main cycling buddy live in the South West or circa 7pm on the M25 clock we identified that most of the climbing is in the Surrey to Kent section. This drove the decision to ride anticlockwise and tackle all the climbing early on when we were fresh rather than say 12 hours into the ride.
Also we took the decision to cross the Thames in the East using the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry which seemed a bit easier to rock up to unannounced and cross rather than the service offered over/under the Dartford crossing
https://www.gov.uk/dartford-crossing-bike
https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/ferry-services/tilbury-to-gravesend-ferry-service
MTB-Idle-
Should have done the same in hindsight, mostly for the headwind on the last 4h, would have been better to finish with a tailwind. But I wanted to be at the Dartford crossing at a time where the shuttle was working, hence more reliably at the beginning of the ride.
Worst climbing was in Hertfordshire, 9h in, headwind and rain, did not enjoy that.
giofox
I had last Friday off, so I wanted to do a big offroad loop to try some new bits, but the wett-ish conditions of last week put me off venturing into unknown trails far from home, so I reverted to a road project I had my eyes on for a while and ended up riding The Orbital, with a DIY route, adapted from the Forum approved one.
All in all better than I thought (maybe I had low expectations), with Kent and Hertfordshire being the highlights and Essex coming close. The South West from Leatherhead to Iver was the most forgettable part.