My first ever bike commute today:

perfect morning on the way in. The temp was perfect, birds were singing, traffic was actually very mild. My route went on nearly without incident. I actually got to work about 20mins earlier than I usually do. I toweled off in the bathroom and all was fine. Way better than what I expected for my first time. I made the 11.7mi trip in 1 hour on the nose. I felt like a million bucks all day at work. The ride home was great too, though I was fighting a pretty stiff headwind the entire time. I still managed to knock it out in 1 hour and 2 mins. It really was much more manageable than I built it up in my head. I just decided I needed to try it, and I'm glad I did! I want to ride in at least once a week.

I feel great about it, got my new more reasonably sized panniers today and am loaded up hoping it's not raining when I wake up in the morning. If it is, back to bed I go for an extra 45min before I drive in.