Did a 35 miler yesterday w/about 10 miles in heavy, stop'n go urban traffic. My starting point is very rural and gets progressively busy as I ride closer to town. Being an experienced utilitarian cyclist I wasn't intimidated by the amount of traffic. The cool thing for me and you guys already know this was being able to NOT use the brakes for the entire trip. Stop signs, traffic lights, descends all successfully negotiated w/o brakes. The concentration level makes the ride much more of a total workout. My thighs are sore and my mind is sharpening. AND, get this I did a TRACK STAND at one traffic light...it wasn't pretty, I was wobbling all over the place. If the light hadn't changed when it did I was going to have to unclip, but I held it for about 3 seconds. I wanted to yell to the guy next to me in the car, "Hey Dude, look at me, I'm doin' a TRACK STAND!!" Again w/t dopey grin.
To quote Bogie, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship."