Well, as dangerous and irresponsible as I think it is to pull this on a bike, I saw something yesterday which removed any animosity I felt towards the cyclist last week. A guy pulled almost this exact move in the same neighborhood except:

1. He was in a car
2. It was a one-lane-each-way side street he pulled onto, not a four-across wide street
3. He only pulled one carlength into the side street before flippin' it around, squealing the tires as he went. Musta been in quite a hurry.

Thanks for looking up the CVC, 77Univega. I double-checked and that particular stretch has a No U Turn sign posted, clearing up the question of legality.

DCCommuter you are absolutely right that letting other folks' behavior perturb me is less than optimal. And I'm doing better, really I am. I no longer feel compelled to lecture wrong-way cyclists or motorists who holler at me when we're stopped at a light. I'm down to just b!tching on the forums, post-facto. Another year or two maybe and nothing will be able to ruffle my zen-like tranquility as a pedal along.... maybe