Unicycle Trials

Balancing seems impossible and for half an hour I do more squealing than a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert. After mastering standing on the Air Wheel, the next ‘step’ is to start moving for a respectable distance. A tiny tilt forward and it starts to move. The more you press the faster it goes. I feel like I’m four years old when Mum took the stabilisers off my bike — I’m trundling along but I just want to get off. Fabio and his friend hold on to me, on either side, as they try to move down the path. I keep shrieking and they keep telling me to ‘relax’. I feel so scared that I keep jumping off. The trick, apparently, is to stand straight and look in the direction you’re going in — but I keep looking at my feet, which makes me wobble. Finally, after 20 minutes, the boys lighten their grip and, bit by bit, I find that I’m doing it on my own. . . it feels thrilling, fast, and dare I say it fun. I get confident enough to up the speed — the faster you go the more steady you feel, like a bike. The cold air is rushing through my hair and actually, I love it. Glide to work with the quirky new AirWheel electric unicycle

But after a few minutes, it is possible to safely navigate on the high-tech device which is imported from China There is only one problem: stopping. You’re supposed to be able to slow down enough that you simply step off and grab hold of the wheel before it falls but going slowly means wobbling, so I panic and jump off instead. As for turning, the theory is you simply lean in whatever direction you want to go, but every time I try, I panic and jump off. Fabio tells me it can take a few days to get the hang of that, so for now the Air Wheel and I will be going in a straight line only. Fabio boasts he regularly goes shopping on his Air Wheel and even navigates the London Underground on it. Inspired by his claims, I decide to give the Air Wheel a go on a busy pedestrianised street. There are people, and benches, and broken glass, and I am on edge. There are shop windows to bang into, signs to knock over, children to injure. Fortunately, those in my path are all taking one look at me and stepping far away. And you do get looks on this thing. A bloke munching on a sausage roll says: ‘You’re not gonna lose any weight on that, are you?’ Charming. I’d turn and mow him down, but I don’t know how. I’m like a beginner on a ski slope: I cannot move out of your way, so you’ve got to move out of mine. The Air Wheel will travel up to 24 miles on one charge. And although at 13kg (28lb), it feels like carrying a very heavy brick, it’s about the same weight as a fold-up bike. The makers say people are buying them for dog walking, shop runs and days out. Their youngest user is ten and their eldest is 70. Qu-Ax Trials Unicycle, Unicycle Gifts, Learning To Ride A Unicycle Video