agressively defensive and sometimes illegal

We were all taught to drive defensively. When riding a bicycle, being a defensive rider is even paramount to one's safety.

When riding in a group, I like to be the one in front, especially on the downhills. I typically have no trouble going faster than everyone anyway and I don't like the restricted response time a group of riders has when one rider makes a mistake or runs into trouble.

When riding in traffic, I do as much as I can to stay away from the cars. For example, I will ride through a red light if there is no cross traffic and if I have an upcoming turn which will take me out of traffic.

Sometimes I use other cars for protection. Going through a stop sign at the same time as a car is a good example of this.

I also try to stay highly visible. Lights and reflectors at in dusk/evening of course. Riding in the middle of the road when making a left turn sitting up high, signaling with my arm. I have a bright yellow backpack - pretty hard to miss.

Of course having a good cruising speed gives drivers more time to see you. So I try not to lose momentum when going up a hill. Sometimes that means buzzing through a stop sign or not slowing too much at a turn - of course I would only do this if I can see the cross traffic from the distance.