Well, I'm home. I only made it 14 of the 18 miles, due to a moment of lost. I had to back track 3.5mi. It had many, many hitches, but I have to do it again in the morning to get to work. I have a bit more confidence, I fixed some issues and know the route a bit better. More details in a bit, just sitting down to some dinner!

Nice! Grats! Now that you got the hitches out should be smoothe sailing from here on out,

Thanks! At first I was a bit disappointed, but then again this is the furthest/longest I've rode in years. I've been sedentary for about a year or two now. Forgot to tell you guys that :P I had to stop midway to pee and take a breather, along with about 15 mins early on for adjustments and whatnot. I feel like tomorrow morning won't be nearly as brutal, seeing that it'll be at 530am instead of 445pm.

Congratulations! It only gets better and easier from here.

Breaks are alright. I have started to start filling up on water at work a few hours before I leave work and go pee before I leave. Keeps the bladder at bay usually. I've also gotten pretty good at coasting a while to take a breather but stop if you need. No shame in that. You'll be surprised how fast your cardio gets better. I got a heart rate monitor for my regular workouts but all wear it while riding since I use it for fitness too. My heart rate when riding fairly hard has gone fro an average of 148 or to to about 130. I'm working just as hard but the heart isn't as taxed. Plus I feel much less winded.

My opinion, be stoked on the ride! You did something you wanted to do for a while. You saved gas. You got a little bit healthier. All good things. It'll all get easier over time.

Congratulations! The first run is always a bit rough. And it's good that you took breaks when you needed them. That will make tomorrow's ride go better.

Now I don't feel so bad for getting lost myself the first time I rode home. ;)

Seriously, congrats on the ride and getting home safe. Well done.

Congrats :)
W.r.t getting lost - initially, when I didn't have a data plan on my phone, I actually wrote down directions from maps.google.com (both, to and fro) and stuck them in my wallet for easy reference.

Thanks for all the encouragement! It made it a lot easier to get up at 5am this morning to ride in knowing I'd be reporting back here. That said, I road in this morning, the whole way. Seems as if mornings are easier, probably due to the temperature. I had no problems, rode the 18 miles in two hours. I think I need to make some improvements to the bike, however. It doesn't coast, at all. The rear seems heavy, too. I only have semi-slicks on it, I think I should upgrade to full slicks.

I feel good, but my poor arse is definitely hurting!

Congrats on doing it. I think you are right about the temps being the reason for it being easier (or else your ride has more downhills on the way in). My morning rides are always more pleasant due to the cooler weather (well, I guess not in the late fall/ early spring).

No shame in taking a break. 14 miles is a healthy ride.

I agree on the slicks. When I was riding a mountain bike, I rode on Specialized Fatboys & they were alwys great for me. i think they only run about $20 or so each.

Weight can really make a difference on the bike. as you get more into it & figure out what you like/don't, I'd adjust what you carry with you. Eventually, if you get the load down small enough, i'd get rid of the milk crate & just strap my stuff to the rear rack. Milk crates are good at carrying stuff, but they add some weight to the bike.

Congrats on making it through your first two commutes.

Good deal! I'm glad the ride worked out well this morning.

As for coasting, hmm... look into the wheel bearings. Even with knobbies, a bike should coast some. Fatboys (the slicks) were an experiment I tried for commuting, but they picked up so many glass flakes that any speed advantage was outweighed by the increased number of flats. That may have been unique to my commute, whose route always had lots of broken glass. Tires with some tread (I used Specialized Nimbus) seemed to eject the glass that the Fatboys held onto.

The Real Deal: Accountability Here
 

18 miles is a great commute. Heck, that's almost 10 more than my round trip when I use the bus rack.

I forgot to mention: yesterday around mile 7 I scrapped the milk crate and just used my backpack. WAY BETTER. When I used the milk crate I felt like I couldn't get going, ever. With the load strapped to my back, it is much more manageable. But my wheels are complete garbage, I think I want to look into a lighter wheel in the back instead on this POC off a Pacific I am using.

Outstanding! Those first two are the hardest, barring the unforeseen.

Going forward, two things are most important especially with a long commute like that. Don't overdo and burn out on it. Use the car as needed to recover, increase the frequency of the commuting only when you're ready. Second, extending the first really, is don't give up. Give yourself at least a month even if, at times, you may feel discouraged.

That's what I keep telling myself. I am notorious for my "all or nothing" style, but I am really trying to pace myself with this. It's important to me morally, physically, financially. I don't want to burn out. I plan on taking the car tomorrow and Friday, but my girlfriend and I have a long ride + hike planned for Saturday into Sunday, hopefully making up lost time on the commutes this week.

Next week I am going to try one more day, but I'll see how I feel. I think the hardest part is over.

True. Getting over the hump of "getting started" is a pretty big challenge. You will get to the point where you aren't happy at work unless you got to ride in, instead of driving.

One more thing I have found super-helpful is to keep trac of what you wear on certain days, the temp & how you felt. It makes it easir to figure out how to dress in the future for similar conditions. this has been particularly helpful for me when the temps dip a bit.