Like others have expressed, I'm concerned that featuretile feels the need to defend herself. I think that the lively debate is evidence that this is a worthy post / discussion.

In my role as an officer for the local club, I'm writing an OpEd piece for the newspaper. The purpose is to affirm the rights of cyclist to safe enjoyment of the rode...but it also challenges cyclists to remember that everything that is permissible is not necessarily beneficial (example: Indiana law allows riding two abreast, but there are many situations where that is either RUDE or UNSAFE or BOTH)

It probably is worth repeating here: The League of American Cyclists was founded about 10 years before the first cars were invented... Because "wheelmen" were challenged by rutted roads of gravel and dirt and faced antagonism from horsemen, wagon drivers, and pedestrians...ergo: roads are an ancient invention that weren't built just for cars