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I guess I'm too Dutch for this question lol. I was like: '20 minutes? Of course it's not too heavy!', but then I remembered babies are delivered by bikes here, so...
Anyway, I think you should be fine. It will be a decent workout as well.
How hilly is the journey? And how fast can you walk up hills without losing your breath?
You don't have to cycle hard and cycling can be easier than walking in the right conditions. You can make it a 30 minute ride to start with and build up to going faster over a month or so. For the first month, try to do it in 20 minutes on your last work day of the week so you have two days(?) to rest after pushing it. If it is a struggle, remember to start nice and easy to warm up your muscles.
First five minutes should be gentle, anyway, to get the blood flowing, especially in the morning. Don't forget to stretch first. If you walk a lot, I think you'll be fine if you're otherwise healthy. Stay hydrated!
shouldn't be an issue. If you feel it's too exhausting just ride slower.
It depends a lot on how steep the hills are and how good the bike infrastructure is
As long as the areas you are going aren’t too extremely risky to bike in, that doesn’t sound too bad at all. You will very quickly become used to that
Yes and no. Humans are endurance creatures, we hunted things back in ye olden day by just chasing them until they got worn out. You'll be able to bike to and from your house, that's not really a problem. But I don't think you're make it in 20 minutes until you've been biking for a bit.
I mean this honestly isn't a bad idea. If you had a particular need to rush home, I think you could probably reduce the time. Maybe a crockpot meal at home?
just be prepared to get off and walk if there are any steep slopes
Depending on the bike, it might be easier or harder but either way I wouldn't worry about the 20 min journey. Give yourself extra 10 mins if you need to go slow. When I used to bike, citymapper had the option for 'fast' and "slow" bike so you could work out the min-max time to allocate for the journey.
When I meant dependant on bike, city bike Vs racer bikes extra changes the dynamic of the ride. I always went for city bike as i need a bike rack and a basket.
The biggest issue at the start will be saddle sores — I've been riding for decades and even I still get these for a few days at the start of the season. They will go away with time, just don't be surprised if you're walking funny at first.
I’m fairly unfit, but I can bike for an hour or so if I go at a jogging pace.
So I say that 20 min ain’t unreasonable.
I think the most important aspect that changed my opinion of bike commuting from "a chore" to "time I look forward to each day" was choosing a bike that I enjoy riding.
Personally, the only time I enjoyed the aggressive stance needed to ride a hybrid or mountain bike was when I used to build jumps with my friends when I was a kid. As an adult, I've found that getting an English 3-speed from the 1970s-1980s with an upright stance (like a beach cruiser) was part of the key to me enjoying my commute. If I had to suggest anything to someone getting into cycle commuting for the first time, it would be to take some inspiration when choosing a bike from the Dutch or mid-1900s England cycle commuting culture, get a leather saddle, get a bike with an internal gear hub, and learn some basic bicycle maintenance.
None of this has to be expensive and there are many used, vintage bikes that are still quite serviceable and they easily beat the riding experience of contemporary commuting bikes.
