As a LA person, I do feel that if you feel like "taking the lane" anywhere where there's traffic in LA during most commute/rush hours, you'll get a LOT of pissed off drivers, most of whom expect to have right of way. Unfortunately, our bike lanes on the Westside seem to "vanish" abruptly, then reappear, which gives cagers no idea of how much space to give us. I actually think that if the bike lanes are going to vanish every 4-5 blocks for large stretches, they should just remove them entirely - with a clearly labeled (but vanishing) bike lane, cars assume they can run me off the road or honk me out of the lane even if I'm in a "Bike Route" labeled road (with no bike lane.)

I definitely think parts of NorCal are alot better. Not sure about SF proper, but for sure, the Bay Area Palo Alto/stanford area is incredible for cycling and bike commuting. On any given decent Sat afternoon, you will see COUNTLESS cyclists on Alpine rd - where you'll see only a handful even on gorgeous San Vicente in LA.