Originally Posted by velocipedio
sam... i admit that i am a lawbreaker. i have, in my life, smoked pot, drunk beer in a public place... and had sex in a public place. once, i shoplifted a couple of cans of tuna and some pasta when i had no money, and i roll stop signs and occasionally burn a red light.
are you telling me that you have never broken the law, and that you respect every law?
indeed, all of the above!
but,
I'm a changed man in regard to traffic law. For several years I've obeyed every one of them, even with no one around. It's not so much for my safety, my first 3-4 years messengering in some unfriendly-to-cyclist places taught me all I'll need to survive and prosper on any road rules be damned. The rest have shown me I can get there as fast with 2-wheels while obeying the traffic codes. So I do that now for the sake of riding fast, bragging rights and cycling advocacy. If I can smoke off one of my own mates while they do the ol' derring'do as I stick to the rules myself I think that sez more for 2-wheeled transportation than anything else I could do while getting the job done. It's also an excellent tool for building a mental discipline that will make you fairly well immune to any form of road rage no matter what you encounter or witness.
Want a great trick for building slow-twitch muscles while getting from point A to point B? Stop for the lights, the stop signs, yield to the foolish peds, wait while the old lady finishes crossing, pass the dumb ass commuter running signals for the third time in 3 blocks, and do it with beating your best time in mind while getting rid of a whole whack of reasons for road rage.
If you gotta ride in the city anyway (smog sucks your cardio no matter how you ride in town) it'll give you a warm fuzzy to find yourself beating the cars at their own game whether they play right or not.