Just curious if there were any updates on his purchase decision, and to be honest - I felt more comfortable riding my Tandem (solo) than my road bicycle when I initially started riding the roads. I have a folding pannier on the back on the tandem and always left them unfolded (more bike to be seen). It's the bigger is more visible theory. If I had a quadracycle, I would get one of those farm decals (under 35MPH vehicle) triangle thing on it and treat it as you would a tractor (pull over every now and then to be courteous to traffic) but own the road when it's not safe to pull over. Additionally lights rule, irregardless of cost (what's your life worth)! Light N' Motion Arc Light on the front of my bike, no Dinotte yet (eventually...) for the rear but at least I have the bright flasher one (name escapes me at moment, but does great for ~$30).