Jumborider -- great thread and I think your observations are dead on. Commuters (at least while they are commuting) are utility cyclists who want to be safe and comfortable on the ride. They want to be able to commute and by one means or another get cleaned up and dressed so when the workday starts they look like any of their colleagues.

I certainly am in the camp that regards my bike as a tool, but I can sympathsize with those who prize their bikes more than that. I describe my hybird as the minivan of bikes -- it doesn't draw oohs and ahhs from people but it hauls what I need pretty much anywhere I want to go with few problems or hassles. All of that is important to me for my commuting style. It's good to have a thread like this to remind everyone that there is no orthodoxy to commuting. Take ideas and suggestions as they fit into your situation and ride to work however you want. Every mile you ride has got to be better than a mile stuck in rush hour traffic and every mile you ride is that much more exercise than you would get otherwise.