New Commute TBD

This month I've ridden about 115 miles just on my work commute. For me, that's not bad, especially considering that includes three snowing commutes, riding on knobby/studded tires, 2700+ feet of elevation gain, and all on a bicycle weighing in at a whopping 45 lbs. However, just as I've gotten my bicycle commuting statistics up, there's a big change on the horizon. My employer, Crazy Horse Studio, is moving across town this week to 1718 Hydraulic Road.

My first thought is SHIT - there's no possible way to get over there on bike. Route 29N... omfg AHHHHH!

My second (or maybe third or fourth) thought... where there's a will, there's a way. After all, it's about time I move on from the comfort of my 6.6 miles daily commute to something a bit more challenging. Also, my body has gotten use to the exercise... I need something harder. Gotta get psyched up for it.

I've been considering potential routes for the new commute, and I've found MapMyRide.com to be a good resource to compare route distance & elevation changes. Unfortunately, I really have only two viable options for my new commute. (All stats are for round trip)

1) 7.5 miles / 180 feet of elevation gain / high traffic / technical urban riding near on-ramps & off-ramps

2) 10 miles / 243 feet of elevation gain / low traffic / hard climb on returning trip
 

All other routes I've been able to find add significant mileage or climbing. However, as I'm writing this I realize I might have another option - a combination of these two routes, going to work via option 2 and returning via option 1... which would look something like this:

3) 8.7 miles / 213 feet of elevation gain / low traffic morning / high traffic evening / reasonable climbs

And by sheer stats, it looks like I have a winner... I'll give it a go. There are still some technical details to work out, but at least I have a game plan of sorts. 1 - 2 - 3 - break!