Thanks for the support, everyone. I've been working my way up to this for a while, riding around the neighborhood and one evening test ride to work. I've been reading these forums religiously, and have gained much useful information.

The first half of my ride is nice and peaceful, with neighborhood streets and gentle hills. The second half is through an industrial park, with lots of large trucks, fast-moving cars and steep hills. I've been using this website to track my routes (http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/index.asp), and I think I have found a couple of cut-thoughs that will save me a couple of hills and some time on busier roads.

That's the only nice thing about riding through the industrial park: lots of adjacent parking lots and back-way cut-throughs. Louisville isn't a great town for bike commuting, but with a little creativity and a lot of attention to my surroundings, I think it will be fun.