"I ran into a pothole, and my bike, while it's got fat tyres, this is quite a deep pothole," he explained. Donovan went over the handlebars, and narrowly avoided the car.
Although Donovan admits he's a bit reckless at the best of times, he says cycling down Marine Parade, the main street connecting North and South New Brighton, is "really quite precarious".
But, Donovan's plight may soon be solved. Marine Parade is slated for a major upgrade in a road improvement project recently finalized and signed off by the Christchurch City Council.
In 2018, the council chose to allocate 40 million dollars of Government funds for fast tracking road upgrades in areas hit hardest by the Canterbury earthquakes.
Council staff have recommended the money is split between New Brighton; Riccarton; Richmond; Linwood and Woolston; as well as a major section of southern Christchurch.