Oh, don't get me wrong: it's pretty dangerous here (Boston) as well. I probably should have included "dangerous" in my list of things an electric doesn't actually help with, though. Most of the danger comes from motorists simply not being accustomed to watching for bicycles.

That's the big benefit of the bicycle lanes (all over in Cambridge) as I see them: the fact that there's a lane reminds motorists that someone might be cycling down it.

You're in Baltimore too? Cool! I always thought I lived in a vacuum of hackery activity.

edit: To stay on topic, I bike to work sometimes and know of a few great bike trails around Baltimore if you're interested. As far as commuting in the city goes, yeah, you're S.O.L.