Does anyone do a long commute? yahoo maps tells me I am 36.2 miles from work, and that is using an expressway that goes fairly straight, and which is not open to bikes. I figure a bike commute would be 40-45 miles. I am not sure I could handle 80-90 miles a day. Any thoughts on how to work into this?

I have a gym near work where I could lock my bike under watchful eyes and take a shower. It is the actual ride which would be daunting.

I have flexible hours so I could go in early or late and leave early or late.

What I don't think I could do is ride to a commuter bus, or even in to metrorail. I don't think the bike would be secure, and it would be areal mess if I showed up at a metro station only to find my bike trashed or missing, and myself 20 miles or more from home.