Am I racing? No. Am I excited about the thrill of riding on the streets and know which streets are more fun to ride on? Yes.

I have nine years of experience on the streets of SF and haven't had a bike stolen while it's been locked up. Maybe I'm lucky or maybe I'm just extra careful.

I'd say that a lot of things that jwz recommends are completely wrong and that this list sounds impressive if you have no clue what he's talking about.

C'mon, he recommends against getting something "fancy" like a light because it's likely to be stolen? Then remove them when you lock up your bike. Ten years on the streets and he hasn't learned that? This is worthless.

Oh yawn it's the GRL.

#5: I think it's pretty clear that the GRL is encouraging more people to do traditional graffiti. I do love good seeing cool art on the street, but most of it is crappy tagging that forces someone else to clean up or pay for. The political argument is totally hollow as most of what I see are badly written names. Only a couple are worth even looking at.

Oh sure, the laser writing is open-source, but with a high price tag and a hefty bit of tech to learn isn't this an exclusive club for kids who want to pretend to be vandals without the nasty aftertaste? Is it really that much more open-source than a black marker with a fat tip?