My commute starts out on about 3 1/2 miles of fairly flat chipseal road. from there I get on the MUP for about 10 miles. from the trail-head I use I have 5 or 6 intersections to cross until I get back on public roads. I have a couple of options for the last bit before getting to the office; the shorter route is about 1/2 mile on fairly busy city roads, the second option is about a mile longer and uses a back road with a decent hill. The nice thing about riding into work, is the route is pretty much down hill. I can ride in at about 17-18 MPH without getting real sweaty.
Then on the way home I can get a good workout as the route is at a gradual climb heading home.