Oh, and I second this. I owned an ebike when I first went car free (750 watt motor and a huge battery). I would be totally willing to do a 40 mile round trip commute if I still had a fast ebike. But then again, a fast ebike is not gonna save you money

Wooosh...............

That went way over your head.

For decades my commute was just shy of 50 miles round trip. About half the time I would go out and ride another 20-40 miles after work, often with my spouse. Most weekends had at least one ride over 50 miles in it. I love riding; it's never a chore to me.

If you're like that, then riding 22 miles each way five days per week is going to be fun, even on those days when your body initially told you it wasn't going to happen. Actually, especially on those days. If, on the other hand, riding is just something you do to get from point A to point B and it doesn't really float your boat, if it's just a bit better than being in a car, then you might find that riding 220 miles per week is too much. It's all in the attitude. You can dread it or you can look forward to it with enthusiasm. Whatever you think it will be, either the most wonderful thing in the world or an ungodly burden, you will be correct for yourself (and only for yourself).

As a suggestion (and one that I wouldn't follow myself, so take it with an ocean of salt), there are half-way decent e-bikes available now that can be had for less than $1500. One of these for a back-up bike for those days, particularly early on, when the mind is willing but the body seems incapable, might be a good idea. Initially, you could use it MWF. Then switch to TTH, then just W, then just those days when you need a break. Or, if you have secure bike storage at work, you might alternate e-bike/real bike (e-bike in, real bike home, real bike in, e-bike home, e-bike in...) I did this with a car when I was adapting to a 100 mile round-trip commute. It didn't take long until the car stayed home all the time and I just rode.

I am thinking my goal will be to commute most days to work, 16 miles 1 way. But I work 12hour shifts so sleep time will be my deciding factor. But I only average 3.5 days a week of work. So there is that. Lol. Also mostly rural divided highway with large shoulders. And rolling hills of the Bluegrass state.

You're obviously in good shape. I love to ride, but 50 miles a day wears on me over time, especially this early in the year. I've been petering out after the third day. But, usually the weather throws a forced break in there for me this time of year anyway, As a result of both, fatigue and weather, I have yet to have a 200 mile week this year.

Once the season is in full swing, and the weather is reasonably dry for long stretches of time, I can ride all 5 days, get my 250 commuting miles, and still have energy to do other things, like mow the lawn or ride some more with the wife at sunset. I'm also usually good for another 100 rec miles on the weekends, but not in April...lol.

I cycle for transportation, and relaxation with long steep hills everywhere I go.

Pulling, dropping, break away, training, no rest.......pain threshold....... Meh, I don't feel the need. No thanks.

I average between 130-160 miles per week commuting (I work at several sites during the week)

One of my clients lives just over 20 miles away from my home, and that takes me just over an hour of cycling to get there, but I have no hills, and although I have a long section riding through the city which slows my time down (lots of stops), the rest is on a cycle path that runs adjacent to a guided bus system (a really good cycle path with long stretches where one can travel at speed.

I'd love to have some hills (it's very flat here in Cambridge UK) but we have strong winds here. If you do decide to commute daily by bike, you will get superfit with the hills you have.

if you don't want to cycle the whole way (especially if the weather is bad), buy a cheap bike and a good lock, and get a bus (or drive your car) .... to somewhere along the route where it's safe to park your car and hop onto your bike

I have a friend who has 3 cheap bikes locked up in various parts of London .... he commutes by train, and depending at which station he is hopping off (or which part of London he needs to work), there is always a bike to continue his journey

That's really a great idea, one of the best rationales that I've seen for an e-bike. Best of both worlds, but not solely dependent on the e-bike.

I've never attempted a 40 mile round trip commute. Half that for awhile, and I'd sometimes do it twice just for the miles but every day would have burned me out quickly. It is something you'd have to work up to with some form of multi-modal partitioning, and a e-bike assist leg would be a logical way to do that.

^ This too. Just to have time to handle stuff that you have to order parts for (broken spokes, BB sounds like a grinder, chain, cassette, tires, cables, etc).

I commute exactly 20 miles in the morning. That ride goes fast, and it feels like it does not take much longer than driving. Basically it's comparing a half hour drive to an hour bike ride, give or take. So, deciding to spend an extra half an hour in order to do what I want instead of driving is almost a no-brainer.

The ride home is a different story. I cannot safely ride home by the same route I take in the morning. Thus, the ride home is 30 miles and takes significantly longer than driving--over an hour more. So, in this case it's comparing a half hour drive to nearly a 2 hour bike ride. That means coming home at 7 instead of 5:30. This can be a show-stopper for most people.

LOL ... I ride fast on that route. it has long stretches with no stops and it's flat. There are no cars (it runs adjacent to a guided bus system) ... the 1st half of the route from my home takes me on a cycle path,(I currently hold the record on this stretch for over 55's (5.2 km which I have done in under 10 minutes):
https://www.strava.com/segments/2197568


then I cut through the city, then onto the last half of the route on the guided busway. This last half of the route/stretch is 18.9 km (11.74 miles), and some guys do it in under 26 minutes:
https://www.strava.com/segments/1090896

I will better my time shortly as I currently use a cheap roadbike and carry approx 10kg of equipment with me in pannier bags and a rucksack

Depending on the route I take mine is 12.5 miles - 14.5 miles, one way. I wouldn't want to do it every day as it's about 1200 ft elevation. What I often do is drive and park half way for a 6-7 mile ride. Cuts my fuel bill in half, misses traffic completely and is 90% cycle path. Needs a car though, that's the only downside.

Ride some days... for other days... use lyft/uber. If you are in Glendale, it shouldn't be hard to do so. If you can avoid the traffic/prime time, it should be economical enough mode of transportation with convenience... (granted it is about 50/50).
I like riding... recently been doing one way 42-50 mile commute and train ride back (well... there is another 5 mile to train station I guess). Been meaning to do round trip one of these days... but don't want to be too tired at work...

I do 19+-mi each way commute but all on flat to rolling river road, easy stuff. During peak summer I will add 12+ mi of climbing on way home but maybe 500 gain or so. I have rolled this route close to a couple thousand times now, that to me is the biggest challenge of the regular commute, you will know every crack, hole, nasty dog, etc on your route. Great excuse to buy more bikes, it is refreshing to switch out frames where say the racing fuso flies home on that perfect summer day vs the fendered miyata which faithfully rides through gritty spray during a nasty 20mph headwind and rain.