At least in that area it would be nearly impossible to live without a vehicle. I think every road cyclist I saw was suited and not carrying anything so I'm pretty sure it wasn't for transport unless that was their outfit for work or they had a shower and work clothes at work.

You can definitely go faster and brake harder but I loved ripping up trails, sliding and so on. It's a bit like how guys ride on brakeless fixies. Those mountain roads just seemed so lethal for a road cyclist vs city roads with proper bike lanes. Like I used to do a lot of legitimate commuting when I moved down the mountain into the city. Not only were there bike lanes but an entire network of bike trails separate from the road, although one had to be more mindful of pedestrians and dog walkers around turns.

All i'm saying is, one was most definitely putting their life in the hands of others on those tight winding mountain roads and I simply don't trust drivers to assume a cyclist is around that blind turn and to steer into the oncoming lane to give them space or slow down from 45 to 15 on the uphill just in case on every single turn every day of their commute.