No. It's not awesome. It's just plain stupid. Riding like that guy was is a good way of getting squashed like a grape. He rides in blind spots, in between cars that are too close together, near cars that are trying to make lane changes (which they may or may not signal), cars pulling out of parking spaces, etc. It's just dumb.

I'm not a timid rider but I wouldn't put up with riding in that kind of crap. Humans love grids and we've laid them out all over the place. I'd bet that within a few blocks there is a road that has far less traffic and far less headaches. Look at the world with bicycle eyes...not car eyes.