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Caveat: This track is not meant to provide legal advise or to exhaustively describe every single law that might apply to cyclists.
The following references provide additional information (the first is a URL provided by the California State government and the second and third are summaries that the authors have compiled, quoting the actual text with some additional comments):
The rules are nearly identical for cyclists and motorists, with each having equal rights to use public roads. It is worth noting that bicycles are allowed on every road in California except certain freeways and toll bridges. In particular, there is no legal requirement to use a sidewalk or off-road bicycle path.
Section 21200 of the California Vehicle code states that
21200. (a) Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle ...
This section not only requires that cyclists obey all the normal traffic laws, but also requires that drivers treat bicycles the same as other vehicles.
Aside from the rules of the road that apply to both vehicles and bicycles, drivers have two obligations with respect to bicycle lanes (please see Section 21209 and 21717 of the CVC): to stay out of them when not turning across them and to merge into the bike lane within 200 feet of the turn before turning across one. The latter in particular is often ignored. There is also a specific requirement (please see Section 21750 of the CVC) for drivers to pass to the left of a cyclist, leaving a safe distance, when passing.
All of the above rules are necessary for the safety, and need to be respected by both drivers and cyclists.
As stated above, cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers, but there are a few laws that are specific to cyclists: a requirements to stay to the right and use a bicycle lane under certain conditions. Both rules have exceptions.
While cyclists will nominally stay to the right, the law requiring this applies only on the roadway(the definition of which excludes the shoulder or areas normally used for parking), only when riding at less than the normal speed of traffic, with exceptions. The definitive statement is in Section 21202 of the California Vehicle Code. The exceptions include preparing for a left turn, approaching a place where a right turn is permitted, passing slower cyclists, voiding obstructions, and avoiding hazards. Hazards include lanes that are too narrow to share with other vehicles, in which case the cyclist may use the full lane (subject to the same rules as slower drivers for using turnouts). Furthermore, the requirement to use a bike lane (please see Section 21208) has all of these same exceptions, and is applicable only when riding slower than traffic and when the bike lane was installed according to state standards for bikelanes. Not all bikelanes meet state standards.
The implications for drivers are that a driver should expect to see a cyclist at any position at the road, and should be aware that hazards and other situations that require the full use of a traffic lane may not be easy to spot from within the confines of an automobile. Furthermore, cyclists are not required to ride close to parked cars (the doors constitute a serious hazard), and because of the definition of the roadway cyclists are never required to ride on a shoulder. Finally, drivers should make allowances for erratic behavior on the part of children: there is a good reason that children are not allowed to drive automobiles.
Drivers interested in the details may wish to read the parallel track on traffic laws from a cyclist's viewpoint.
Pedestrians who jay-walk in front of cars are even more likely to jay-walk in front of a bicycle. It may be illegal, but cyclists will have to react to avoid a collision and may have to swerve. It is prudent to give cyclists plenty of room in this case.
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