Article content

I ride my bicycle on the sidewalk. I do it every day and no ticket would make me stop.

Let me first say that I am not a reckless cyclist: I wear a reflective backpack, a reflective safety vest, an up-to-date helmet and my bike is bedecked in reflectors and blinking front-and-back LEDs.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Urban Scrawl: Confessions of a sidewalk cyclist Back to video

I hate riding on the sidewalk; it is slow, bumpy and unplowed during the winter — but I take it because the alternative is to try my luck on the narrow lanes of Don Mills, York Mills, Eglinton or one of the other shoulder-less mini-freeways surrounding the National Post’s Don Mills headquarters. With only a few inches of clearance between myself and cars going upwards of 70 km/h, all it takes is one pothole or ice patch to send me slipping into disaster.

Motorists should take my side on this. On Bayview, for instance, buses and delivery trucks have to change lanes to avoid a bike in the right lane. If the sidewalk is clear, I free up the lane by hopping the curb.