Wow, i'm the first to post in this forum!

I am very timid. In a car, i am a super defensive person. On the highway, I am the one who has left such a big passing distance between me and the car in front of me that others with less concern about safety pull into it..

On a bicycle, given a chance, I will always pick the bike trail over the country road.

Unfortunately I live in a city, and my office is in an industrial area, on a 4 lane road with a 40mph speed limit (meaning people regularly drive 50mph).

But I really really want to commute on a bike; for reasons of health and
concern for the environment.

I spend my whole workday (usually) just sitting.. i have to do something!!

So; here's what i've done so far. Of course i am wearing a helmet.
I have a neon yellow raincoat or slicker i mean Shell! on. I have a red blinky on my helmet
in the back and a white strobe LED light on the front of my helmet.
I chose to put the strobe on the helmet instead of the bike so i can point it at motorists if i like.
As hard as it is for me; unless there is room... I take the lane. and it really is hard. it's like there is a hand forcing me to stay on the side of the road.

What really helped me understand just how important this is was that bicycle safety website.
http://bicyclesafe.com/

what i still need to do:
i need a rearview mirror and a bell. I know the bell's fairly useless with cars, but every little bit helps.

if anyone else has any suggestions, please post here for me and everyone else.