wphamilton

Keep the rubber side down. For everything else, you must ask the right question.

RALEIGH_COMP 

I live in Orange county, CA and it is not very bike friendly when it comes to commuting. That being said, keep your head on a swivel! Eye contact is a pretty good indicator of a driver's awareness, not fool proof, but still very helpful. And get a bell, I know seems minor, but even in O.C. people kinda know bell=bike. Just shouting "look out", or "on your left" a lot of times falls on deaf ears(there's a lot of random yelling and shouting in the streets around here). And if you really love your custom chrome single speed, I would get another bike lol. Commuting takes it's toll no matter what. Not that your bike is not suited for commuting, more just if you want to keep your new bike looking new you should get a dedicated commuter IMO.