So I did the commute on my road bike today and I have a few observations:

One, riding with a backpack sucks. It shifts my center of gravity, especially with the laptop in it. It also left a huge sweat mark.
Two, I wore my Keo shoes. I'm used to flat pedals and sneakers for commuting, even though I've been riding Look pedals for over 20 years.
Three, I can easily surpass a safe speed for the bike lanes that I'm on in Manhattan. It's one thing to be able to crank it on the bridge or in the park, but on 1st Avenue in Manhattan there are potential obstacles everywhere and riding at what I'd consider a slow pace is still too fast. Maybe I'll try the East Side Greenway.
Four, I put my super bright flashing light on but nobody paid any attention to it.

So I'm still going to come up with a better solution for carrying my gear, and I'll probably take the toe clips off of my Davidson road bike and use that for commuting. Maybe I should ride before it gets light out so I'll be seen with my superbright headlight. Everybody jumps out of the way when they see me coming at night, and I'm still two blocks away!