mci021,

Fellow chicagoan here. Where do you ride? Have you tried hitting up the lakefront path, it can be a nice ride, particularly north and south of the city. I'm doing approx 5 miles each way ( but I always just double back so I get to 30 minutes each day or I dont feel like I've worked out at all). I'm shooting straight up and down Halsted from up in Lakeview, if you see someone struggling and cursing up a storm, it's probably me.

As for distance, I'm like you, trying to make it longer. I'm comfortable with the 5 to 6 miles each way per day and trying to push past 15 on weekends. Last weekend was my longest ride yet, approx 16 miles, hoping to crack 20 this weekend, and with a little luck 25 next weekend. All the same, I still haven't lost a pound, despite doing all of this at a steady 140-160 heart rate. Yay!