This is so cool. I just found this thread. I have been biking in NYC for about 20 years. Anarchy rules. The bike lanes are a joke. What's more, any cyclist worth his/her salt can always beat traffic in just about any boro much to the chagrin of the car people. So here are the things I have learned.
1. Charles Darwin may have been a bicycle rider.
I always take a lane. I race all comers: cabs, busses, trucks, pedicabs. The working assumption is that they are all nuts and all want to kill me. My goal: clear a path, get out of my way. I also am lit up like a Christmas tree with flashing lights. Either they avoid me or have a target.
2. Look in four directions all the time and at once.
Take the long view looking forward. See what's going to happen before it does. Look both ways (this is true if you are pedestrian as well). Give yourself wide berth (that's why the bike lanes are useless - - you will get doored or cabbed or turned into). You must create your own space. Seeing behind me has always been an issue but I try and look before I switch lanes.
3. Yell and scream alot.
If you are coming up on an idiot who you know will turn on you, SCREAM AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS. The phrases I find most effective: "STOP!!!!!!", "WATCH OUT I AM ON YOUR RIGHT", "RIGHT HERE BABY RIGHT HERE". and my favorite "I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE". Yelling really lound has an effect and makes people stop.
4. Confront your oppressor.
I always catch up to an offender. I pull up to their window and POLITELY ask them how there day is going, whether they were intending to kill anyone today and why that would be a bad thing. It almost always gets a smile and then I ask them (seriously) to slow down and be more careful. You know what the Torah says: "Save one life and you've saved the world". This just has more of a trickle down effect.
5. Wear your helmet.

Now, here's a serious question.

When i am in the smallest gear both in front and back, my chain rubs the front derailleuer. All say this cannot be corrected. Tell my Ohbewahnkonobee, is this true?