I ride a mountain bike on my very short commute and for recreation in a state park near my home and office, here in a small suburb south of Boston along the harbor. I also have a roadie but don't ride it much, though I go through phases where I like to go fast so will give it a good run.
My commute is only 1.4 miles each way, downhill on the way in, along a really nice old leafy main street with beautiful homes that leads to a small downtown area. There is very little traffic and only one fairly busy intersection.
The beauty of the commute is it leaves lots of time and energy for mid-day breaks up into the woods, where I usually do a 12 mile loop on a combination of single track trails, old fire roads, and a little bit on paved service roads. All of them are typical of New England with lots of bumps and roots and rocks. It's a good workout and I really enjoy being out in the forest. I've seen lots of wildlife, including turkey, deer, snakes, all kinds of waterfowl, turtles and, of course, plenty of bugs.
My style on the commute is assertive but not aggressive and since it only takes about five minutes, there is no need to rush. I take the lane always, leave about three feet between me and parked cars, but am courteous about giving way where practical and safe. My biggest thing is eye contact: if it don't see them looking at me at an intersection, I slow right down and make sure they seeing me. And not with that blank cell phone stare, either. You know what I mean. If I see someone yakking on the phone, I just assume I am invisible and behave accordingly.
I think every single day about how fortunate I am to be able to pretty much coast across my little town to make a living and not have to sit in my car commuting.
On the trails, I probably take too many chances, given my age and the fact that I don't bounce quite as well as I used to. It is a thrill to come flying down a trail over some rocks and around a sharp corner without breaking me or the bike. I push my self to work hard on the hills and have even started tracking all my rides with a program on my phone that has GPS. It lets me refine the routes I take and see average speed, altitude, etc.
Safe riding.
TS