I'll bite.
First of all, welcome to the wacky, wonderful world of nicycle commuting!

I'd recommend doing some pre-conditioning once you acquire the bike (or by other means until then) to avoid killing yourself on that first commute, especially if it's been a while since you've ridden or exercised. Start out with some easy 10 mile rides on flat terrain to get the cobwebs out, then add some hills and disance until you feel comfortable with a 20 miler before heading to the office.

For your distance and terrain, a variety of gearing is a good thing.

These bikes immediately come to mind:

http://www.surlybikes.com/crosscheck_comp.html

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...=38443&eid=123 , the aluminum frame won't be quite as shock absoring as steel, but very nice ride. The carbon fork helps with this.

Trek's Portland and Soho are also options.

I also LOVE what the crafty devils at Harris cyclery have cooked up, but you'd have to pick it up in person or have a friend get it: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/bianc...os8/index.html