Today during the commute I really paid attention to what I think is slowing me down and more about the ride in general. The ride there isn't too bad, a few hills, but nothing bad. The biggest problem is I normally max out my bikes gearing for a bit of the ride. The way back is a little different, most of the ride is into semi-strong wind because the buildings and houses creates a wind tunnel for about three quarters of the ride. The wind is strong enough that if I did stop peddling down hill, the wind will stop my momentum. Also, most of the steeper hills are on the ride home. Overall the ride home feels slower and is harder, but I think this is primarily due to the wind. My guess is something that allowed a more aggressive posture when riding into the wind would be beneficial.

As far as roads go, most of the problem areas are older roads that are falling apart. The city is repairing the roads which coincidentally involves repairing the bike lane. I don't know if this further description helps with understanding my situation and if upgrading the current bikes or getting new bikes is better. Also, what kind of budget is necessary to make a worthwhile upgrade or is this unnecessary? Someone mentioned double, that isn't feasible, but we might be able to stretch a little.