tsl

If you want to commute, but need the car at work, put the bike on the rack and drive the bike to work on Monday. Leave the car at work during the week and bicycle commute, then drive the bike home on the car Friday. Problem solved.

There are two things to consider about congested roads. First, do you want to part of the problem or part of the solution?

Second, the greater the congestion, the slower the traffic. Slower traffic makes for safer mixing of cars and bikes. This is why I love cycling in the city. The odds are evened. Google estimates 29 minutes to drive the route I cycle to work in 22 to 25 minutes. EDIT: And that's actual clock time, not cyclometer "ride time".

Daven's suggestion about lights is well taken. I run my DiNotte lights day and night. If "lights on for safety" during the day works for tractor-trailers, then it's good enough for little ol' me too. Plus, all my upper-body commuting wear--jacket, shirts, jerseys--are hi-viz. I have enough of each that waiting to do laundry on the weekend isn't a problem.

ANOTHER EDIT:

Routing is another thing to consider as well. No one says you have to ride the same route you'd drive. Now that the weather's broken, I can take the long way to work on the MUP, or use residential streets that run parallel to the main routes. (They're not as well-plowed in the snow.) I have another route that cuts through the cemetery, 50 yards of sidewalk, and then through the University campus to a ped bridge across the river. There's a wealth of choices.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, after 11 years car-free and bicycle commuting for the past four, but the new Google maps for bikes showed me a route I'd never thought of. In one section, it recommended a very, very narrow one-way street that runs parallel to the road I had been using. Better still, it lines me up in much better position for the bridge across the river. All these years and I'd never considered it.