It wasn't until I started outdoor skating that I realized just how much of suburbia can be reached by footpaths that are almost entirely shielded from roads.

There are inevitable road crossings, but at a certain basic level of competency that doesn't pose a problem (except if you slip and slightly tear an adductor, for those of us over-forties).

I'm fairly paranoid about putting my bodily integrity at the mercy of device-distracted operators of two-tonne missiles flying past a metre off my right shoulder with no curb or other barrier between.

I might be crazy, but I'm not suicidal.