Originally Posted by Cornbread
Well, congratulations on having balls of steel. Fact remains, riding a bike in traffic is VERY intimidating for a vast majority of the general public. I like what my bike does for me, I don't like what a 2 ton SUV does for me (or for that matter a 1-ton Civic). If you want to "advocate" cycling then you need to be prepared to confront this issue, not dismiss it as an invalid excuse.
And, yes, all of your other reasons are perfectly valid, but even with all of those issues resolved, the danger of being hit by a car remains.
That may be so in Rochester, New York, but where I've cycled in California and Wisconsin, being out in traffic is the least of my worries. And seems to be to the other cyclists in those areas as well.