I forget where you go downtown, but I work near the White House and have commuted to work twice. Starting and stopping is still somewhat of an issue ... especially while heading uphill, but I always shifted a lot with the touring bike so some of that is second nature. Getting around all of the security barriers is a pain in the @ss. Enough such that I will be looking for a different parking location since I tend to arrive a bit late to work. If you go across the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge on the way home, then I find crossing Lynn St at the beginning of the Custis Trail with its limited visibility to be an issue.

Anyway, I lump it all under growing pains and figure that it will get better. I'm swapping some chainrings on the crank to lower the gearing about 10%. I think life will get easier afterwards.