I do the same, with the addition of no pedestrians around approaching a crosswalk. If nobody was there to see it, did it really happen?

While bicycles follow all the same laws here in CA as cars, in reality this breaks down quickly. For one thing, bicycles are human-powered, so are in a different legal class to begin with. They can be operated on the shoulder for instance, while cars can't, and shoulders aren't subject to normal traffic rules. You can ride in any direction, one-way signs don't apply, don't have to stop for lights or stop signs, etc. You can reenter the roadway at will whenever it's safe to do so. This means you can often just move over 2' to the right and legally roll past a stop sign, then reenter the road a little further down. Often this is extended to bike lanes in 3-way intersections, where the limit (stop) line isn't painted into the bike lane. Bikes can also ride on MUPs, and use crosswalks, paths, and sidewalks that reasonably provide access to it. (Under a presumption of public easement, basically the same reason people have a right to drive cars across sidewalks to and from garages, parking lots, etc.) Then, finally, safety or impossibility is a solid defense against just about all traffic infractions. If you're coming up to a stop sign and plan to turn left you're supposed to signal a stop and a turn while stopping and turning, with the turn signalled throughout the turn. Well, you can't both hand signal a stop and a turn at the same time. It's also dangerous to stop or attempt to start a bicycle with only one hand on the bars. Basically, it's both impossible and unsafe to attempt to comply with many laws, because they wren't made with bicyclists in mind. For instance, the law says a bicyclist can stop and get off at a curb, but what if it's a no stopping zone? With designated bicycle parking on the sidewalk, why can't you ride up to it from the nearest curb cut, like a car can drive across the sidewalk to get into a garage? (Assuming of course proper precaution.) Cars obviously don't get to park on sidewalks. And bicycles can't legally be parked in the street. Which just illustrates the legal differences.