Interesting discussion. I live in a suburb (Whittier) of a major metro area (Los Angeles) and I do use the Metro train in addition to my bicycle routes. I live 6.5 mi. from the Metro station, and while we do have our share of morons, the vast majority of my commute is on major streets without bike lanes (not that morons respect bike lanes either).

That said and with my morning commute in the dark (pretty much) all year long (at work by 6:30AM) I am treated fairly well by both the normal morons and the moron-elite. Yes, I have lots of flashing lights and reflective bits on the bike and helmet, plus I wear a neon yellow/green vest with reflective stripes . . . but all that wouldn't faze a moron-elite.

I don't use a mirror, essentially because I ride a folding bike and the mirror restricts the fold, but haven't found that a problem. Maybe I should try a helmet mounted type? Anyway, thanks to everyone for all their input on this thread. Just another reason I try to check in on the commuting forum fairly often.

Rick / OCRR