The Wheelies Times: Gone with the Wind.....

Today, we speak to Daniel Lynch, who hails from London and is known to the wheeling community as Neon EUC, Neon Wind Rider...

[TWT] Tell us about your age and occupation

[Neon] My age is 35 (be 36 in July). I am currently freelancer, producing videos and pictures for websites

[TWT] How did you start on the EU? How long you've been wheeling?
[Neon] I started wheeling as a spur of the moment idea. I came across a picture of an electric unicycle on eBay. Not knowing what it is, I decided to buy without knowing what is it. However, I did not buy in the end and soon forgotten about it.

A couple of months later when I was on the bus, I looked out the window and saw one guy zooming in between the pedestrians and I was amazed by it. It came flooding back to me that I actually seen the product in eBay before but to actually see it in action was something else. I had no idea what they were called then. I tried typing everything I could think of, such as "one wheel", "electric wheel" on the web. After a few tries, I finally realised the name of the amazing product is "electric unicycle", which is also EUc in short form.

As I never knew them before, I searched in eBay only to discover there were actually so many of them. I thought they were all the same but with different designs but I was wrong. The electric unicycle not only comes in different designs but also motor size, battery size and wheel size.

After looking at a few wheels in Ebay, I went for an unknown brand because it had the English flag design. I later found out from Thomas Hoon that the wheel I bought is called WangQuan.

[TWT] How did you find out about The Wheelies?
[Neon] I tried to find out more about electric unicycle by searching within Facebook. Several EUc groups came out and and one of them was The Wheelies. The Wheelies seems to have the most number of members with regular uploading of pictures, wheeling sessions, videos and comments.

While the wheeling action attracts me, I was glad that through the Wheelies, I managed to meet up with so many fantastic people: Edmund Lim, Thomas Hoon, Eugene POS (still wonder what POS is), Dale Walker, Kok Fook Cheang and so many others. To be honest, almost a year later, I am still making new friends in the group and constantly amazed at how the group can get together on a regular basis for night rides and day trips. I am also impressed with The Wheelies participation in the Chingay. It really put EUc on a global spotlight. Despite the Wheelies being in Singapore, their fan based is global. I'm from London, England and the Wheelies is much bigger (a lot bigger) then any other London EUc groups.

[TWT] Why do you like Wheeling?
[Neon] I love wheeling for so many reasons. I was a snowboard instructor but despite my love for snowboarding, it was very restricting with what you can do on it with the board. On the other hand, the EUc that I ride ("Windrider") is more fun than a snowboard as you can take it anywhere you want and useful in all terrains. Even after riding EUc for more than a year, I still get a lot of buzz riding it, constantly getting people stopping to ask me questions about my EUc and getting their cameras out to film me wheeling. The way people react actually makes me smile as I felt almost like Hollywood star.

I also like the fact that wheeling can be ridden in all weathers, especially given now is summer in England. Nothing beats using an electric unicycle to go to shopping malls. While others are crammed onto a packed bus under the intense heat of the summer sun, I rode through the traffic using my wheel, with the cool breeze brushes on my face. Ironically, they are paying while yet I get to have all the fun for free.

[TWT] What is the most difficult trick you have done?
[Neon] The most difficult trick was actually learning how to ride the electric unicycle. I got advices such as learning without using the stabiliser as they are not helping in the learning. Learning to wheel is not easy for me as there was no one to guide or hold me. I had to learn by watching YouTube videos and asking advices within The Wheelies.

I view EUc as more a relaxing sport than a show off device. After I managed to learn how to wheel, I became ambitious and interested to learn more about tricks. This is a natural progression for me given that tricks are a big part of my snowboarding background. I have tried going backwards, one leg riding and even using two EUcs with one on each leg.... But.... I felt that I am not as good with wheel. I supposed my trick days are behind me now.

Given that I have a few medical conditions such as sclerosis, ankylosing spondylitis, low immune system and low bone density, the EUc helps me to get around with ease. It's not only a fun device to use but it doubles up as a mobility device. You will be pleased to know that a person with physical problems like me (including broken leg, damage spine and broken hip) still able to ride the EUc.

[TWT] Any whacky ideas for wheelers?
[Neon] Haha, I love a good competition. I believe wheeling is unique and execution of the skills need to be flawless. One of the challenge I would love to see is the "slowest race". The idea is to have all wheelers starting behind a line and everyone going as slow as possible. The last one to cross the line wins. While the idea sounds simple, executing it takes a lot of balance. It's fun seeing people wobbling to get their balance and I am sure there will be plenty of laughter too.

Jokes aside, it's actually great skill to learn how to go as slow as possible as it perfects your balance and if you are looking for more challenge, you can do a slow race backwards with one leg. :)

[TWT] Any last words for your readers[Neon] Take the plunge and grab an electric unicycle and if you have kids, its makes a great family day out too. I would also like to thank Edmund, Thomas and all the Wheelians for helping me and giving me so much advice and laughter.