hello everyone, I hope all is well.
my commute as mentioned before is 14 miles if I take the short route its 1/3 bike trail the rest is road or I can opt to do 16.5 miles 75% bike trail mostly flat.
the issue is hills on the way home 
. going to work isnt too bad as I have one nasty 2 mile climb in the middle of the ride into work then its all small hills or down hill and some flat . my average time yesterday going to work was 17.3 mile per hour (a few big down hills ,start of ride and end of ride).
the problem is the ride back is mucho uphill 55 % I figured out this morning . the first climb is right out my front door of the office and its 1.3 mile and very very steep almost have to walk it (its great in the morning) then I have some small rolling hills for a few miles but at the end of the ride I have 2.5 miles of nasty climb again . all this hill stuff on the way home brought my average speed down to 11 miles per hour making the trip home slow motion but more importantly
tiring.
Ive done the ride home the 3 times I commuted thus far (lousy weather Its pouring right now
again) but its been cool , if true summer weather arrives again it will be a hard one if I have to climb all the way home.
some options to ponder
1) I was thinking of perhaps taking the long route on the way home via the bike trail but stay on the trail another 4-5 miles as it would be pretty flat with a few rolling sections .
I would have only one very serious hill at the beginning of the ride which is less troubling than the one outside the office which is a killer!! I make it but whoa!!!! I will also have a 2 mile very slight grade almost flat when I get off the trail but I will have a 19 mile ride home vs 14 or 16 (but mostly flat)
2) install a triple on my cross check (double right now 52/39 - 12/34 )
3) be brave and take on the nasty homeward bound hills with my double and hopefully it gets easier,
many thanks
"John"