I'm planning to commute by bike once DC2 starts school in September. It's a 7-mile route, 5 miles of which is on a flat-ish purpose-designed cycle path (nice!) with the other 2 miles on a normal road surface. I really like the Dutch-style single-speed bikes with a nice basket on the front and minimal fuss but the killer there is that the children's schools and our house are at the top of a half-mile long stretch of hill with a very steep gradient and there's no way I'd be able to pedal up it on one of those. A road bike would be fab for the whole thing but whileI'm reasonably fit (I run regularly for exercise), I'm overweight and I'm loath to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a bike more suited to racing. I also want to occasionally add a tag-along for DD to use on longer family rides and I don't know if I could do that with a road bike.
I've read lots of buyers' guides but just don't know which type of bike would fit all the boxes. I'm not keen on going into a bike shop to ask for advice because I'd feel bad taking their time and then not buying straightaway. It's a significant purchase for me and I want to get it right. Any help welcome!