cycocummute...

Do you ride a motorcycle? Your comments make me think not.

I see nothing in your comments about how to make the bike turn. You must turn the bars to the left, by pushing on the right side (countersteering) to lean the bike to the right and initiate a right hand turn. A smart rider would never apply pressure to the left side of the bars. That would tend to make the bike not want to lean. If it doesn't lean enough it won't turn sharp enough.

With a bicycle, if you have the inside pedal down, the bigger problem will be hitting the pavement with pedal and raising the rear tire off the ground. That seems like a no-brainer.

You're really confused if you think that a rider can do more than just apply his weight to the outer pedal. There's nothing to "press" against.