I bought all my gear in, plus food the day before including my locks which I stuck in the bike rack. I carried a small low profile backpack containing a waterproof jacket, my key's/wallet/phone/ID and my mini-pump, so nothing too bulky. I could probably get away with using my jersey pockets at a push.
I left the house at just after 0630 as the sun was coming up. I initially thought I could get away with a summer cycling jersey, but I had to go back in for a long sleeve base layer as it was bloody nippy first thing. It's a good job I did, as I was bloody freezing for the first couple of km or so.
My ride each way starts and finishes at around 20m difference in elevation and is pretty much 10k on the nose. It's not long by any stretch but more than enough to get the blood pumping. On the way in I drop down steeply through the town and then back up the other side at about 13% over about 800m. It's fairly flat then for the last 4km.
I've just got the ride home to look forward to now which has a short steep climb, and if it doesn't kill me I might do it all again tomorrow.
I guess once I get into a routine it should be okay, but I may have to look at getting mudguards and decent kit for the autumn/winter months. Definitely overshoes as I can't stand putting on wet shoes.