14 riders turned up at Canada Water including a good number of first- or second-time joiners.  Plan was to ride a stretch of Quietway 1, including the newly opened path past the Millwall stadium (“The Den”).
First we went upstream along the river with a short stop at Fountain Green Square and a briefing about the Thames Tideway Tunnel. After being hidden behind a tall blue fence for a long time work at the site has become visible and more is expected soon: https://www.tideway.london/the-tunnel/construction-sites/chambers-wharf-bermondsey/
Continued via Sweeney Crescent and City Walk, quiet links between Dockhead and Wild’s Rents.  At the Law Street junction we turned left onto Q1 (right would have taken us to the South Bank). It’s nice to see that the Sustrans bridge campaigned for by Southwark Cyclists many years ago finally leads somewhere. Today would have been a good day to count bicycles on the new path passing the Den: we met (and waved at) another peloton, possibly a Greenwich ride.
Major, probably Q1-related, roadworks at the Surrey Canal Road – Canal Approach – Trundleys Road junction, let’s hope improvements make one of the most dangerous spots of the route compatible with the label quietway.
We left Q1 and crossed Evelyn Street to get on NCR4 (Thames Path) and headed back to Rotherhithe. From Russia Dock Woodland we detoured briefly to Durand’s Wharf, one of the landing sites for the proposed cyclist and pedestrian bridge from Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf: http://www.sustrans.org.uk/bikebridge. Quite a few of the riders hadn’t heard of the project but they are now strong supporters.
Back into Russia Dock Woodland and, ignoring the promise made before the start that no hills would be involved in today’s ride, everybody who hadn’t climbed SE16’s highest mountain had to ascend it (on foot).
Despite some minor mechanical issues we returned to Canada Water at noon exactly after about 15km.  Route at  http://taffimai.w2.org.uk/healthy-rides/HR-CW-Q1-20160514.html

Report from Ride Leader Werner.