How do you find your route?

I'm intrigued by the idea of commuting to work. My job has a bike locker with badge access, showers, hairdryers, etc. I live about 11 miles away by car but all the roads I take are very major and not suitable for cyclists. Other than a few group rides I mainly leave the city to get miles in for safety. How do you find the safe routes to take? Is there a site somewere that people show the routes they take to a downtown area?

Of course this would also mean I would need a new commuter bike ;)
(any excuse for a new bike...)

In the DC area, there are several local cycling advocacy groups that will help commuters determine a good route for traveling by bike, and they have maps that note good roads for cycling as well as local trails. There are also a couple of good cycling listservs that are open to the public.

Listservs and forums for a local cycling club can be also a good place to start, if you belong to any.

maybe try Google maps (there is a bicycle option) and see how it routes you. Sometimes it does a good job of finding a safe route, and sometimes the streets it takes you on aren't suitable for riding. Might be a good place to start, tho.
How about driving a couple residential ways to work sometime (or home) to see how traffic is?

Ask other riders, ride around, drive around, walk around, keep tweaking it until you like it, tweak it again when you are bored with it.

Do the exploratory sometime when you do not have to get to work on time and looking good.

It is true that you want a different route to bike than to drive.

Have you taken Traffic Skills 101? Many roads that seem dangerous to you now will open up when you have those skills.

I have heard that Houston is a difficult city to bike in. But not impossible. Explore a bit on weekends until you find your route. Do you know cyclists in the area? (Are there any on here?) They might have some insight.