Bravo! And just as a side: the harder you're riding, the harder it is to keep a cool head when something bad happens. I know if I've got the blood (and adrenaline) pumping, I take slights much more angrily than I otherwise would. It takes twice the effort to make a halfway intelligent shout (like, "RED LIGHT!!) when someone nearly kills me as it does to come up with "HEY! F___ YOU!!!".

Good call, Dingbat. That reminds me of a great one from Jens Voigt: "You got all the blood in your legs and none of it in your head." But we don't all have to be Jens when we're dealing with traffic.

How we behave and get treated as a lone rider is often different than as a group. I know I'm more courteous as a single rider/pedestrian than I am in a group where I feel more empowered. I think drivers tend to treat a single driver different than a group of riders too.

“Don’t swarm cars at a light” Amen!! When I see this happen it really pisses me off. We all know the cars are going to pass us a few seconds after the light changes, so why try to move up to the front of the line and piss drivers off? I can only imagine what drivers think when we do this. We need to wait our turn like every other vehicle on the road. If we want respect on the roads we need to try and follow as many rules of the road as we can and not act like we are entitled to break all the rules of the road.

All good points to be sure. I know as a driver and rider, I really appreciate it when riders do it right or at least make the effort. That being said, there’s an additional factor I feel is often over looked by most riders I encounter, visibility. Many riders I’ve seen wear multi colored outfits that don’t stand out and easily blend into the background at a distance. As a driver the first thing you’re looking for is other traffic and other obstacles. Cyclists’ project such a small figure that they’re easy to miss at a distance, especially if there are other things commanding the driver’s attention, like traffic, road obstacles, and cell phones. As a result, it’s easy not to see a rider until you are very close and if you’re traveling at highway speed; have only seconds to react. High visibility clothing, like florissant green, yellow and other bright colors draw the eye and can be spotted at a quarter to a half a mile. How many accident reports quote the driver as saying “I didn’t see the cyclists”? I know they may not look too aesthetically pleasing but there’s a good reason for that. That’s why I never hit the road on my bike without a high-vis vest or jersey in the day time and plenty of lights and reflective material and clothing at night.

TDS brings up a good point regarding visibility. As we are approaching ever shorter days and riding more at night, it is essential that we ride with appropriate lighting. Basically, we all need to have a white front light and a red rear light when riding at night. I've heard that night time accidents involving cyclists without lights will often result in the motorist not even being cited. If you're injured or damage your bike, you'll have no leverage if riding without lights.

The lighting requirements can be found here:
http://www.biketraffic.org/content.php?id=50_0_6_0

especially if there are other things commanding the driver’s attention, like traffic, road obstacles, and cell phones.

I see your point and it is an important one, BUT....it is also important to understand that bikes ARE traffic.