Cycling is one of my fondest memories from childhood. One of the biggest drawbacks to living in the city I live in is that it isn't very cyclist-friendly, so I don't really view biking to work as an option. I live about 6 miles from my office but any reasonable route to/from work would require riding on congested roads with drivers who don't know how to interact with cyclists. The possibility of serious injury or death resulting from someone hitting me with their vehicle at 35mph just isn't worth it. :(
Car commute routes often have more-or-less parallel routes better
suited for bicycling. If you are pedaling on the same route you
would drive on, it is likely to be well worth spending some time
trying to find a more suitable route. I would prefer a longer route
with many stop signs over a congested multi-lane route with traffic
lights. Spend a weekend morning in your car with a road map looking
for smooth pavement.
Disclaimer: Works well in grid layouts (western US), less well in
older cities, depends on local topography, rivers, rail, etc.
