The Vehicular Cycling method would be to just ride in the street like you were on a motorcycle or in a car, and only use the bike lane if it's to your advantage(which it often won't be in VC). Of course, there's some heavy debate on VC versus bike paths, though I believe most people would agree that being on the road in some form is far better than the sidewalk.

However, whatever you do, I think almost everyone here would agree you should only use the bike lane when it's on the right side of the road. Riding the wrong way(sometimes referred to as salmoning, I believe) is to everyone's disadvantage, including your own.

This is all from another fellow with little real-world experience, of course, so take it all with a grain of salt.