Try Ride with GPS. It has a very good elevation trace.

Whenever I want to get an elevation profile for a route, I use mapmyride.com. Terribly slow and clunky, but Google maps doesn't do elevation profiles. That would be awesome, wouldn't it? They already claim to choose bike routes based partly on incline, and decent world elevation is available from google earth, so why not build in elevation profiles?

Talk about a good example of how math and "statistics" can lead to wrong conclusions.

This would be like looking at a cross country bike ride of 3000 miles where the highest elevation was 6500' and saying the average grade was so minimal I would not need much gearing. Can't we just take the OP at his word and help him figure out how to make his new commute a fun challenge rather than a grueling trial every day. My reason for asking about elevation gain was simply to figure out what kind of climbing the commute involved- short steep climbs? One long climb? A bunch of "rollers"? IMO, this helps in knowing what kind of gearing, bike choice, tire sizes and riding style would best help the rider.

One other strategy is a training strategy. Often commuting cyclists use their commutes and transportation needs as the sole means by which they achieve fitness and that can be effective. But when you get a sudden change in your commute, like the OP, sometimes it's worth it to devote some time to some training rides. Taking a day and finding the toughest, steepest, longest climb you can and doing a series of hill repeats until you can't do one more and then giving yourself a couple of days for recovery and then going back to your commute may make those hills feel like nothing in no time. (Repeat as necessary)

Per the OP, "Granted, coming home is a blast. Downhill 8 miles".

Evidently it is not rolling terrain.

Good advice.
Cheapest, possibly best option, from a fitness/cycling perspective.

Fastest problem solved, chain the cranks and rings to the deore touring set I posted, and the cassette to the 12-36, 29'er.
Gives you quite a few options and a much lower range.

Next best, and cheaper than above, put the fewest # of teeth on your small chainring, just not sure how much lower you can get the gearing on the 105 crank/spindle.

please excuse my sidebar,

buzzman, where in the berkshires are you. I was just out there for an overnight in adams, n adams & williamstown. there are some serious hills out there for sure. hope you got better tires for those descents, can't imagine a flat then would be pleasant

From the OP's more detailed description I got a different impression but I could be wrong. I'll leave it to the OP to clarify, if need be.

In any case, sounds like a rider getting used to a hillier terrain, which is relative. One man's mountain maybe another man's molehill but that fact isn't going to help the first man up his mountain. Once the OP gets used to this terrain, which I'm sure he will, hopefully he'll be understanding of the next rider who comes along and wonders how he'll get up those hills he now rides easily every day.

To Rumrun- I'm in Becket at the top of a mountain I leave my front door and am hitting 40 mph within a couple of minutes without spinning the pedals. Coming home is a little tougher.

IF you are managing with the 30:32 combo, I'd just change the cassette and see how that works. You might not need any other changes that might affect shifting quality on the front.

You're right on the money in everything you said....first things first, I have to get used to hills!

That was and is still my plan...just a bit more low range.

Ok, I got mapmyride, but I guess I didn't hit record, and didnt realize it recorded elevation, so Thursday I will hit record and submit the results. It is rolling, but rolling up apparently. The uphills on the way home are nothing, no concerns and have 3 very decent descents, ended abruptly by stop lights, signs, etc. the overall change in elevation, again, is not a crazy amount, but it kicks my butt. Hoping in a few months it will be much easier since my body and brain are a little more used to it.

I don't know what you mean by 'record' are you talking about a mapmyride app or something? I'm just saying if you go to the website, you can create a Route, draw your route on the map and it will also show you the elevation profile. Just all on the web.

Be advised that Shimano doesn't recommend using the 12-36 cassette on regular road hubs due to the torque you can generate with that 36T cog:

Shimano HG61 9-Speed Cassettes.

FW6005

12-36t 29'er-specific cassettes must be used with either M529 (6-bolt) or M629 (centerlock) hubs, which are designed and manufactured specifically to withstand the extra torque load exerted by the 36t low gear

Use of the 12-36t cassettes with other hubs may result in hub-failure and may void warranty coverage

If you can put a smaller granny ring on that triple, that's what I'd do.

I have 700 cc on deore hubs, will I be ok?

I will map it out and let you know

Yes, the ap. going to the web now to check it out thanks.

I remember when the 12-36 first came out. Some people got all excited, like it was going to unleash their climbing prowess. The reality is that it's only one gear inch lower than a 12-34. Extra torque? I think that's shameless hype.

Maybe it's mental but after the mile climb, I feel every single incline. On the way home, none of it bothers me.

Here we go..

If you think the quoted text is marketing hype, you're reading it far differently than intended -- which is that the road hubs (in particular the ratchet mechanism) are about as strong as they need to be for smaller cogs, and 36T pushes them past their design.

There are lots of "Deore" rear hubs. What's the part number on yours?

Lx hubs pn FH-M580

Wondered, 8 miles up is over 40,000 feet, air is rather thin that high , and you have 747's flying by.

Yeah, had some close calls

Google earth is good, what are the starting and ending points, with earth you can pull up a chart that gives a side view of the terrain

So if you state the starting and ending points, a chart will appear magically