I wonder how many will look at your new bike and feel the need to buy one for themselves?

hey Nicholas ! have you had a look at Survey Monkey ? www.surveymonkey.com

Hey Forest - thanks heaps for that. I've seen this before, and will see if I can work this into my plans. The key to getting it up and running will be to ensure the design of the survey is A1. That's what's keeping me busy as we speak!

Yes riding 2 abreast is legal but like everything there is a time and place. Riding 2 abreast effectively blocking a lane in the middle of peak hour does not do the cause of cycling any good at all. All that does is P off a bunch or motorist who only see cyclist as stopping them from getting where they want/need to be. Sharing the road goes both ways :-) And yes i agree you are more visible riding out from the curb and yes there is safety in numbers, But we need to stop being our own worst enemy and realize that just because the law says we can do something you need to take in your surroundings into effect first. The law says i am allowed to walk across a Zebra crossing, but i think I'll wait until that 10 tonne truck stops first before i step out :-)

I'm coming from both sides - I ride recreationally on some fairly major roads and I drive 80+km's every day to get to work - my point was much of the angst between riders and cyclists is a clear lack on understanding of what the laws actually are.

Very few people aim to hit and injure cyclists, but some of the things I've seen around the Melbourne CBD make me wonder where some cyclists left their brain when they got up in the morning.

I will protect myself first, in the same way I actually watch for traffic when I cross at the Zebra crossing - but by the same token I don't think I've ever seen a driver get irate that someone dares use the zebra crossing in front of them because they understand that it is a legal right for a pedestrian to have right of way over one.

There needs to be more understanding from both sides - but before this can happy some work needs to be done on making people aware of the laws that relate to both cyclists AND drivers and why cyclists will choose to do something that actually keeps them safe (like not riding in the curb).

I absolutely agree with you and re-reading my reply above i didn't mean it so sound as arrogant,( for want of a better word) as it reads. I've just heard that "we are allowed to ride 2 abreast" argument quoted so many times it just gets on my nerves now.
Which was the point with the Zebra crossing, Just because the law says i have the right of way, and yes as motorist we all know pedestrians have the right of way, I'm still not going to exercise that right unless it's safe to do so.
Which is the same with the 2 abreast, yes it's legal but time and place and only if you can do it safely.

"Very few people aim to hit and injure cyclists, but some of the things I've seen around the Melbourne CBD make me wonder where some cyclists left their brain when they got up in the morning. "

Yep same here in Brissie, and unfortunately i have had a run-in with a few of these %$#%$^&g idiots that have gone out of there way to hurt cyclist over the years, amazing how brave they are throwing stuff out the windows while they are in the steel box traveling at 60 kph, and how quiet they get when you catch them at the next set of lights. :-)
Like you i have seen this from both sides as a commuter cyclist and i worked as a courier driver for a couple of years so i have seen both the idiot cyclist and motorists on our roads.
I agree, Education and understanding is the way forward. Motorist need to understand what we can and can't do on the roads, and Cyclist need to understand what we can and can't do and to use some common sense when on the roads.
Again though, and i know i harp on about it but, this needs to be on both sides, and there is some cyclists about (present company excluded of course, as well as all the real riders here on this site :-) ) that are just too stubborn or thick headed to realize that they are very vulnerable out there.They are betting that skin and bone will survive taking on steel and plastic which is traveling at 60+ KPH, I can tell you from experience it hurts, and i was in the right and not riding in the curb :-)
I know after being hit by a car the comment from the driver was she didn't think i was traveling as fast as i was and so she thought she had more time to pull out.(I was coming down a hill which i usually do 60kph+ down but on that day i was only doing 40)
Any way Safe riding to you all, and unless someone discovers how to power cars with water, petrol will be too expensive to use soon and so people will have to travel by bike:-) then maybe they will understand what we feel when we are riding.
Perhaps we should make it a new rule for drivers before you can be issued a license you also have to pass a cycling test.