Agreed on principle, do not agree on the helmet stuff. I've done an endo as a kid and blacked out before. I'd like some kind of protection, even if it doesn't work at 50km/h or protect against concussions.

The complain by motorists (including myself when I do drive) is that cyclists are unpredictable. With drivers, because they're following some kind of rules, they're more predictable. Some of the stuff he listed is just basically a no-no (left turn from right hand side). Some, I think if all the cyclist act the same way, would make it easier for the motorists.

I like my junk, and I don't care about style, so I wear the bike shorts. If I feel conspicuous wearing bike shorts, then I wear it underneath a pair of real shorts. Commuting is mostly not fast enough for the tight clothing to matter, but I don't like pain in tender regions. I think it is unfair to blame all cyclist for the attire - That's like blaiming firefighters wearing protective clothing. They don't when they do need to. What we should be letting people understand that they can wear normal clothes, with some awareness that they should keep clothing out of the chains for safety and fashion reasons. We can recommend padded stuff to wear underneath if they are not comfortable with the styling. When people are pounding out 40-50km/h (and I see those people around here, cause they're faster than I and double back on the distances that I do), I won't blame them for wearing tight bike shorts.

A lot of that is compromise on both sides. Stay out of sidewalks as much as we can, give people lots of heads up on multi-use paths. The slowest cyclist will have to pass pedestrians, saying hello or not is irrelevent. What is relevent is to give the pedestrian a heads up long enough so that they don't jump around. Also, know where you should pass. I'll be the first to admit I've made mistakes (including yesterday) where I've passed at places where I shouldn't, surprised by incoming traffic, and have to choose on braking hard or sprinting out of the way. Neither way is ideal, and I wasn't as nice as I should be. It's ok to try and put the pedal to the metal, as long as it's clear of hazards, and people are aware of what you're doing to do ahead of time.

I really don't agree with the author on this one. He deems that anyone who wants to cycle for sport as immature, and people who cycle in normal attires as adult. I'll be polite and call that shortsighted - cycling is not a transistor, there's no on/off, or right/wrong on this. I have friends that do it for leisure first, fitness second, and avoids road riding by getting on the sidewalk. I tend to see cycling as fitness and commute on equal footing, and head to the road before I ride on a busy sidewalk. Aside from the fact that I want to get him off the riding on the sidewalk part, I think it's perfectly find that we see cycling differently.

I have friends that bombs down a mountain, and outclimbs me on a commuter, and he wear lycra shorts on commuter rides. Is he immature too?

I push myself on a bike not because I'm immature, but because I would be working out hard enough to force myself to focus, and to learn discipline (like commuting instead of taking the bus), and to save a couple of bucks where I can. I don't pretend that this is the vision that other have, so let's find one that work for them. It doesn't have to mean that I should diminish my own views and desires on cycling, or to force my own way onto others.

Just because we prefer speed and distance, doesn't mean we can't guide others to find their own cycling nirvana. It's like watching my friend outclimb me on a urban ride - even though he would much prefer getting caked in mud, he was there to help me find my own place in cycling.