Well, I managed it yesterday. Rode to the bus stop, took the bus halfway, rode the rest of the way. Don't judge, it was 92 degrees....and I'm lazy. There's no shortcut home though, I had to ride the bike the whole way.
And now I'm more convinced than ever that I both want and need a new bike. So time to start saving. Horrible as it sounds to everyone else in my life, I think the bike is a higher priority than a new laptop.