Thanks for all the advice. I'm starting to get excited about the possibilities. I've driven my route by car, and yesterday I rode the route a little more than halfway with no problems (OK, I was a little tired ). My goal is to ride the route all the way next Saturday.

By the way, I'm kind of used to packing my clothes for work, because, get this, for the past two years, I've been DRIVING 20 minutes to the YMCA by the office to workout (I usually ride a stationary bike or Precor machine) in the morning for an hour or so. How crazy is that? Only now do I see how ludicrous that is. By using my bike for the commute I can get my workout in, avoid sitting in traffic, and feel good that I'm not contributing to the traffic problems.

Now I have to figure out what to do with my bike once I get there...