My ride to work is over an hour each way. Been doing it every day for years here in the northeast U.S. A mostly residential route. Funny thing is if I take the bus, it takes the same amount of time.

I started doing this out of a distaste for cars and statistics show that driving is actually much more dangerous then biking.

Weather-wise, I far prefer snow to rain. The hardest part is cold feet in the winter - never found a great solution. My advice is, if questionable weather is a deterrent, dont bike those days. But dont let it stop you from biking at least when it is nice out.

I do a single ear headphone with audiobooks (note I am not in a city). Gotta have something to listen to or I would be bored to death. Music can drown out important road dangers. Spoken audio has enough space and quiet that emergencies easily get my attention.