As for making us look bad, there are many *legal* things we do that give us a bad name with drivers:
* riding in the middle of a lane that’s too narrow for a car to pass safely
* not riding in a bike lane because it’s within the door zone
* riding on a roadway where there’s a parallel bike path
* riding on any narrow mountain road
* riding in the middle of the lane on a curvy descent where we can ride the speed limit
* riding two abreast in a wide bike lane/road shoulder

In contrast, do I worry that people who walk across a street against the light are making me look bad because I walk too? No. Do drivers who weave in and out of traffic, speed or talk on the phone while driving make other drivers look bad? I sincerely doubt it. People say they’re idiots or jerks. And they’re the ones endangering other people, not a couple of women trying to get through an intersection that clearly wasn’t designed to keep them safe.

Rather than letting public opinion cast us into a “scofflaw” role, I propose we fight back and demand streets designed so that anyone–from an 8 year old to my 90 year old neighbor–can use it safely on a bike or on foot without having to break the law to do it.