Maybe you are an avid bicyclist maybe you are not.
Before I started bicycling I was prejudiced against them thinking what the hell are you doing in my line and getting in the way!! Get over to the gutter where you belong!

I was not aggressive toward bicyclists but they did piss me off.

Since I have been riding, cars have passed me so close I have been hit by their mirrors!! I have had a redneck actually stop in the middle of the road, himself, blocking traffic, and confront us with violence!

I started riding to lose weight and got hooked on the sport, I have been riding a bicycle only since February of 2003 and I have a whole new prospective on what bicycling is about:

Good Health, Exercise, Fun, New friends, Camaraderie, the cool spandex, and many more reasons.

There is a reason you sometimes see bicycles farther out in the road than you think they should be.

The bicycle lanes are filled with debris, nails, glass, and many potholes that will swallow a whole bicycle.

I have put together a condensed version of the basic rules of the road from the California DMV code so you can see what the rules actually say.
This is also in PDF format for you to download if you want copies.

Give them to unhappy motorist or just have them handy in your seat bag.

For you NON bicyclists it would be nice if you would take the time to read these rules and maybe we could all get along a little better.

DMV bicycle rules in a nutshell


Bicycles on public streets have the same rights and responsibilities as automobile drivers

Cyclists are part of the normal traffic flow and are entitled to share the road with other drivers.

Cyclists can legally move left to turn left, to pass a parked or moving vehicle, another bicycle, an animal, or to make a turn, avoid debris, or other hazards.

If the cyclist is traveling straight ahead, he or she should use a through traffic lane rather than ride next to the curb and block traffic making right turns.

Drivers should allow a minimum of three feet of space between the vehicle and bicycle when passing.

Before passing a cyclist in a narrow traffic lane, wait until the traffic is clear in the opposite lane and then change lanes to pass the cyclist. Do not attempt to squeeze past the cyclist.

21202. (a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:

(1) When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

(2) When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.

(3) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge, subject to the provisions of Section 21656. For purposes of this section, a "substandard width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane

4) When approaching a place where a right turn is authorized.
(b) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway of a highway, which highway carries traffic in one direction only and has two or more marked traffic lanes, may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of that roadway as practicable.

Amended Sec. 4, Ch. 674, Stats. 1996. Effective January 1, 1997.

What has two wheels, improves mobility and air quality, reduces traffic congestion and parking demand, saves energy, and promotes healthy living through enjoyable exercise? Sound too good to be true? Planners, engineers, policymakers, and cyclists recognize these benefits related to bicycle commuting.

Eighteen bikes can be parked in the place of one car.

Thirty of them can move along in the space devoured by a single automobile.

Same rights
Share the road
Don’t Squeeze By
Give them three feet
Substandard width lane