Part of the adjustment for me is that my regular ride is a triple, and I am a massive weakling

The commuter is my old steel Schwinn which has a regular road double. The big cog on the back is (I think) a 25 or 28, where the road/touring bike has a 34. If nothing else I'm definitely going to get a bit stronger over the commute, which should show some dividends on the road bike... hopefully.

It was a really good feeling, but I'm a bit sore at the moment.