It seems that a lot of people, both old, and not so old, have been taught that when you are on a bicycle, you are a pedestrian, and you should ride against traffic, "so you can see the cars!". This is what I call "entrenched misinformation".
Often, people were taught this by mom, dad, or well-meaning-but-misguided boy scout / girl scout leaders. Often, if you try to tell them otherwise, or that riding against traffic is the fastest way to the cemetery, they just don't want to hear it. "well I don't care what it says there!" is a standard response.
It's interesting how something like this gets "stuck", and people believe it from generation to generation, sort of like an urban legend.