Dressing/gearing up for the weather is also important. It's all about the layers.

*reaching over the bars to close opening car doors...
never knew anyone fuked with that except me till I saw that king of messengers video (or something like that)...I guess it is common practice
*peripheral vision/being able to look behind you on both shoulders
*holding a straight line with one hand (or none) while turning body to make eye contact with drivers behind
*'dancing' in front of a vehicle to keep it behind you
*making loud noises (whether it be from a yell or whistle) to alert others

+ 1. i think flowing with traffic is very crucial but it has to tie into predicting a driver to do something stupid. my philosophy is expect every driver to not use a signal or purposely block them so they dont cut you off with a turn. its amazing how many drivers have the !very easy ability! to signal and don't use them. i mean moving the hand doesn't even burn a calorie so how hard is it? i hope someone makes a signaler for bikes so i could let others now what im doing. i guess folks don't have the patience or kindness or care to let others know what they're doing.

Peripheral vision is key. Gotta know what's going on all around you at all times.

I'm also working on the no handed whistle to replace yelling. I can't do the whistle with two fingers yet, so it'll be a bit till I learn the no hander.

enjoying it

yea...learn the whistle homie!!!!...learn both too, with fingers is easier to do in the winter when your lips are freezing and is louder too...but without fingers is quick and very key

if you need tips, learn from someone who can do it well....or PM me, I'll try to give you tips

being able to buck up a wheelie out of a trackstand as to challenge the cars around you and intensify yourself as a cyclist on the road and just a general badass to the surrounding people on the sidewalk.

skitching is necessary when you're really freakin late.
- a correllary to skitching is learning how to get your feet back in the cages while the pedals are spinning like crazy, or at least being able to stomp the bottom of your platforms.

learning to curse properly is a must.

and it seems like it's going to be crucial expensive for me, i have to break my habit of skidding too too much. evan, remember that tire i put on on thursday night? by the end of work on friday, i had skidded through it. b'oh.

It's more like "old way" vs "new way"..... I just point to where I'm goin' if I think the cager needs to know....

oh man i tried to go under a low tree limb one time and forgot about my backpack. my body made it under then the pack hooked, popped my torso up and then rolled my off the back of the bike. at least a girls walking by said it looked graceful and nothing got busted up....

one skill thats tough for fix is coasting with your inside pedal over the curb so all you take up of the road is your tire and one pedal's worth of width. i use this one all the time to get by cars traffic. the ducking/backpack skill comes in pretty handy at this time too.

oh and i dont know if anyone mentioned it yet, but being able to look back over your shoulder and keep a dead straight line is essential. tough too.

When you're at a red light along side a car, I don't pay any attention to which way the driver is looking to determine if he is going to turn left or right or go straight ahead. I look at the driver's front wheels. The car is going to go the way the wheels are pointed, no matter what the driver is doing.

i agree and disagree. from personal experience i do the same too but there have been times when wheels are straight and then they go for a turn quickly and then times when pointed to turn and they go straight. what i do to determine if they turn is look to see if they signaled (which is a suprising thing to find sometimes cuz some drivers dn't use them). but the overall best thing i do and suggest to everyone, let them go ahead so you protect yourself. 4get the gyesing games and let those guys go first so give ease to your mind (even thought there will be other things stressing you about how they drive but one less is better than none at all)

one i haven't heard mentioned yet... using cars or other windows on crossing streets as mirrors to see oncoming traffic. works best at night b/c of lights, but it works pretty good durring the day too. as said before, make sure you have plenty of room to bail if you see something heading your way.

also, knowing when to be a little agressive so people know you are there on a packed street during rush hour.

Go, stop, turn left, turn right.

hahahahaha

Chin to shoulder is the best way I've found.

Learning to ride a track bike without making an A#$ of yourself.

Learning to read traffic.

Learning to follow the flow of traffic.

Learning to know what to to in case of an emergency example : chainring breaks and chain flys off.

S/F,
CEYA!

Ride without spilling your coffee. Can't do that, you have no business being on a bike.

YES!...

Learn how to say "**** YOU" in a real thick New York accent. Much more efficient than "Hey buddy! That sucked!"

wheelies.

are you a heavy guy by any chance? i've been skidding my tires religiously since september, still no signs of wearing to the thread and i have a backup of gatorskins on hand. i clock in ~160lb.

i cant remember if i said this already but if you run brakeless, well-executed skid stops are mandatory. as in well-executed, i mean being able to do them under split second reflexes, and barely having to get out of the saddle as to ensure shortest braking distance.

stopping is all well and good. Neccessary sometimes. But many times stopping quickly is the best way to get an SUV's bumper up your a$$. I ride with the theory that if you have to stop, you've done something wrong. Not always true, but it keeps me focused on avoiding situations rather than reacting to them.

One of the best lessions I've learned is that I'm not in a race (most of the time) and I'm not getting paid to get package C from A to B as fast as possible. Slow down, enjoy the ride. Traffic is like a river.. If you flow with it you can use it to get where you want to go. If you fight it and try to conqure it, it will kill you.

i lyk your philosophy