[asoneth]

Echoing the above, I had a bike commute in midtown Manhattan as well and found it more convenient than the subway and safer than biking in the suburbs.

Compared to the NYC subway it was faster, more consistent, and less prone to delays.

Compared to biking in the suburbs the car traffic typically moved more slowly, I didn't have as many close passes, and drivers seemed more aware of their surroundings. In the suburbs the majority of the people I see biking are middle-aged men in lycra, whereas in the city it seemed more like a demographic cross section.

I also saw other cyclists cross on red lights, knock into pedestrians, and swerve erratically in traffic, though I also saw drivers, moped riders, and pedestrians do the same at roughly the same rate so I always assumed it was a crazy New Yorker thing and not a crazy biker thing.