Police say a cyclist has been charged with careless driving after he posted a stunt video on Instagram that showed him weaving in and out of traffic riding only on his back wheel.
The cyclist, who posted the video on the Instagram account for My Little Bike Shop, was seen heading southbound on Yonge Street, south of Wellesley Street, with his front wheel in the air, swerving in and out of traffic. At one point during the video, the cyclist is seen briefly biking on a busy sidewalk.
Police say the incident occurred on June 17 at around noon.
The video was later posted on the Toronto Police Service’s Instagram account with the caption, “Thanks for the video, great riding skill, but dangerous cycling behaviour… YOU now have our attention.”
The caption went on to say that the video showed “evidence of careless driving under the HTA” in addition to multiple by-law offences.
“This is essentially a perfect example of poor cyclist behavior,” he said. “He could have been killed. He went through a red light between oncoming traffic.”
The cyclist defended his actions in a subsequent Instagram post.
“I never crashed, I never hit anyone, and didn't commit any sort of hit & run. I never even made / make anyone slow down, hit their brakes or cause them to pull last second maneuvers,” the post read.
“Yes, maybe a little dangerous, but I am a expert, have been doing this my entire life and have NEVER had an accident or caused an accident while on the streets of Toronto, while on my bike (one wheel or two).”
On Monday, police announced that the 28-year-old cyclist had been charged.
He is scheduled to appear in court next month.
