Door to door: 12 miles
Condition of bike: outdated, but adequate for the time being (Diamond Back with Bontrager bits hung off it... from back in the day when both were still independent companies....)
Condition of commuter: sorry ass.

The Ride: first six miles is north towards the bay - that is to say slightly downhill. Kept it on the big ring and managed to make it to the halfway point (a public park at the bike path trailhead) without needing a break. The second half is a bike path heading east which leads to the parking lot of my office complex. The morning sun is a bit of a glare, but it's a sweet ride. 1:20 . This is taking longer than I expected.

The ride home was a nightmare. Sit bones are a bit tender, and the afternoon winds have picked up. Now I have a steady headwind for the first half of the trip, not much chance to catch a breather by coasting along. Make it to the park, dismount, and wait for Inspiration to find me. The back half of this ride is all uphill. Not big uphill, just slightly, but a long thin grind. And this tubby bast@rd has to push the pedals to make it happen. 1:30 for the trip home.

Reflections: There are a couple of new ped/bike bridges over the highways that make the trip much safer. Much appreciated. I'd like to get to the point where I'm riding 3X / week... maybe M,W,F... The combination of a heavy rider and hardtail mountain bike is not especially conducive to a gentle ride. Much like post from bkwentz (#683) I too put a B17, some M520's and some SPD mountain bikle shoes on the old steed. Made the ride much more enjoyable.

Thanks for the inspiration.