I've been a roadie for the past 3 years, recreational only so far. Anyways, I live 4 miles from work and I feel pretty darn guilty that I don't commute by bike. I figure I may as well come clean to the pros of commuting and see if anyone can help me over the hump.

Here's the dealio:
1) I ride a road bike (Bianchi XL) that isn't exactly the ideal steed for a commute to work.

2) Due to said road bike above, wife not too pleased about idea of spending a lot more money. Big surprise, right?

3) I live near Dallas, Texas...you know, the pereptual heat wave during summer months.

I tried to commute one day but it was quite a hassle. I had to wear shorts and of course my bike shoes so when I got to work I had to change pretty much all of my clothes. I can't wear pants on the bike b/c of the chain and the LOOKs aren't safe to wear my regular shoes. Packing the clothes in the backpack generally renders any ironing pointless. I don't want to make any changes to my road bike because I use it regularly, and I would love to go out and purchase a Dr. Dew but I would get shot in between the eyes when I brought it home.

I could go pick up a used hardtail for $200, but what if my commute changes to 15 miles? Plus, that still has the chain mess problem. I would like to be able to get dressed for work, maybe wear some tennis shoes, strap on the skid lid and ride to work. Take a backpack with "oops it started raining" gear and, in the summer, some clothes for the very hot ride home. Any suggestions? I'm sorry if you folks get this all the time, but I'm sure I'm asking in the right place.