Mirror question

[Crankin]

I've never used a mirror, but for no other reason than I feel very comfortable looking behind me, taking the lane, and signaling aggressively to drivers. In fact, my riding buddy once told me it's like I'm giving them the "schoolteacher" look with my hand signal.
I used to ride with a Camelbak all of the time. I stopped about 3-4 years ago. But, if I were doing a long ride, like a century or 75 miles, I would probably use it if there were no places to get refill my bottles. I'd rather be hydrated. My bottle skills are not that great, but most of my rides allow for some stopping time, enough that I know I am drinking enough.
In my riding group (mostly older, very experienced riders) we have people with all kinds of gear on their bikes. Some of it looks like a little overkill, but if that's what the rider wants, who cares? Some of these people ride 5-10K miles a year and do tours I could only dream of, as well as running the Boston Marathon, riding the PMC, etc.
I have my flat bar road bike pimped out, though... 2 rear blinkies, pannier, 2 front lights (one stays on all of the time). My road bike does have a rear blinkie and a seat bag a bit larger than most roadies.

[PamNY]

Catrin:

Sounds like you are happy with your mirror choice. FWIW, I have the Take a Look mirror and I love it. I use it mounted on glasses. There is a learning curve -- it's weird at first, but now it's second nature.

Using a mirror and learning to look behind you are not mutually exclusive. You can do both (and you should). The mirror is great for very, very crowded urban situations which is where I spend most of my time.