For many years I had a 70 minute commute, too, and it was a breeze in a 5-speed, even though it entailed a lot of through-town and traffic lights. On the whole

For many years I had a 70 minute commute, too, and it was a breeze in a 5-speed, even though it entailed a lot of through-town and traffic lights. On the whole I enjoyed it very much. What wasn't any fun at all were all the 10-20 minute traffic jams when all the idiots were bumper-to-bumper, oscillating between 3 mph and zero every few seconds. First gear, neutral, first, neutral; accelerate, brake, accelerate brake. Especially on an upgrade. My clutch foot was killing me.