Ah, Zen I already leave at 5:45...
I am a middle school teacher. It takes me about 56 min.- 1 hr 1 min to ride my commute to school on my road bike. I like getting there at the same time I usually get there when I drive, because I want to be there well before others arrive (to change, wash up, and make myself look presentable) and definitely before kids start showing up. I need this time to do work before my day starts. In fact, I was thinking of waiting until 6, so I could start riding in a little earlier in the year. Right now it's still quite dark and I can't put lights on my road bike.
I might *try* to ride the Jamis in after a couple of commutes, when I am in better shape. We'll see.