This morning's commute and other commuting stories

I've just moved to SE4/14 borderland and did my first new commute up to bloomsbury/holborn today. Took OKR from New X to Bricklayer's Arms then did Great Dover St (lovely bit of tarmac on that as SE beers bods will know) to Southwark St by way of Marshalsea and Southwark Bridge Rd, then over Blackfriars, left up that little cycle way to Holborn Circus and all the way along High Holborn. Got there in about 30 mins. Nice direct route, but I have to say coming back I noticed the terrible surface on OKR much more than in the morning.

I used to go up from southern end of Peckham Rye by way of Camberwell Green/Walworth Road/E & C and then over Waterloo Bridge. Queens Road/Peckham Road is a better surface than OKR no doubt, but it'd add another ten mins on the journey to go all that way west from New X before heading north from Camberwell. The only roads that provide a little shortcut are Southampton Way or Peckham High St/Trafalgar Ave, and they're all shocking surface wise.

Anyone ever gone through Burgess Park and up the middle of Walworth? I believe there's a numbered cycle route that goes that way...

I do the exact same route (and yes, Southampton Way is pretty guff, but a good section of it has just been repaved), but it's undoubtedly slower than taking the OKR. Was thinking of trying the Deptford/Surrey Quays/Bermondsey route and getting into central via Tower Bridge, but I've got a feeling that would be an even longer ride.