I am guessing that my statement was taken as I do not tolerate bike riders on the road. Not knowing me I could understand that, but being an avid participant in the sport (racing in high school, tuning my own bikes and others from that point through today, having many contacts with national manufactures that have come about from my activity in the sport and being "hopefully" quite close to a startup of my own centered around the sport) should clarify that I am not coming from a position of I am in a car and you should not be here attitude.
My statement was meant to serve as a reminder to folks either just starting out or looking for an additional form of exercise that some common ground needs to be shared when out for a ride. If you cannot keep it near the shoulder, you should probably keep it to the back and less traveled roadways. Riding 4 feet off the white line or side-by-side so that a conversation can be had is much better suited away from normal flow of traffic and there are actually many options for this in almost any area. Just because the law is on the bicycle side does not mean that the mirror or front end of a car will not hurt. Sharing the road means giving another vehicle room to pass on the left, that means you need to listen for a vehicle approaching and move over to allow everyone as much space as possible.
Also as a side note: Wearing a helmet is the number one safety item, but if you happen to take a fall and that helmet strikes the ground, it needs to get put in the trash and a new one needs to be purchased. That also stands to be the rule if the helmet falls off a high shelf or gets tossed quite hard into the back of the truck often. Also a failure of the seam tape between the shell and the foam is cause to for disposal.
The foam material that absorbs the contact is a one time use only. It will not provide the same protection twice, no ifs ands or buts. Check any manufacturer warning and you will see this noted. If you purchased at a bike shop it should have been explained to you by your sales rep as well.
Happy biking.
