My commute is 12 to 12.6 miles each way, depending on the route I take. When I started, it took me about 1 hr. 20 to 1 hr. 30 each way. Now it takes me about 1 hr. 10 min. in the morning, 1 hr. 15 in the evening.

My morning commute is faster than the evening commute because, on the final leg of the route, I ride on a busy 2-3 lane street going down a gentle hill. It can be chaotic and look scary to anyone not used to riding on it in rush hour, but it's not that bad. I use the descent to boost my speed to make it easier to flow with the traffic. For my evening commute, I don't take that street because that same hill slows me down, which is ok for filtering during red lights, but once the light turns green I'm in trouble. Instead, I take an alternate route that includes a curb-protected lane. Because of that, and because my riding style is even more relaxed in the evening (no sense of urgency vs. some sense of urgency), my evening commute time tends to be longer.

Regarding the concern about time requirement, I plan for a 1.5 hr ride (ie. I leave my house kind of early) even though I've been completing my commute well before that. This allows me to ride feeling relaxed and able to enjoy the breezes and views. I don't like the feeling of having to rush everything to beat the clock. When I'm in a panic to get somewhere fast because I'm late, I forget things like my employee access badge - bad things start to happen.