It must be nice to even have bike lanes as an option. I don't think I've ever seen any in my town. I wonder if the town where I move to on Monday will have any? Luckily I have two weeks before I start work to figure out a good commuting route so I can make bike commuting a real possibility for me. Even if there aren't lanes though, traffic doesn't bother me. I cycled on busy streets in Berlin, Germany one summer (although admittedly they are a lot more bike friendly there than they are here in Texas) and didn't die, and since then... I just take the lane a lot, act predictably, signal, wear visible clothing and look like I mean business.