Wheelie different journey to school - meet the boy who rides a unicycle
Alfie went on a journey of discovery, via a poo bin and granny's, to a daily school commute all on one wheel
- Published
How do you get to school?
Maybe you walk, hop on a bus, get a lift from the parents, or zoom in on your bike.
But not Alfie. Because he has decided that one wheel is better than two.
The 11-year-old travels to school on a unicycle!
That's a single wheel, no handlebars, and lots of balance. It's not something you see every day - unless you live in a circus.
Weird and wonderful bikes for World Bicycle Day
- Published3 June 2021
Alfie first tried riding a unicycle just for "a bit of a laugh".
One wobble turned into another, and instead of giving up, he decided he wanted to learn properly.
Soon after, he found a second-hand unicycle for sale online and snapped it up.
Over the course of a weekend, in hour-long sessions, he practiced, fell, practiced again and fell some more until he finally got the hang of unicycling
Despite feeling "like it's easy" now, learning to ride was hard work.
Over one weekend, Alfie practised in hour-long sessions. He rode, fell off, climbed back on, and fell off again. But with every tumble, he got a little better.
"I would just try and ride from a tree to a dog poo bin, and got further and further, made it to my grandparents' house and then I made it to school," explained Alfie.
Wearing his school uniform and a helmet, Alfie says the journey to school is full of "bumps in the curb, potholes and it's just trying to keep your balance while going over that.
"It's not too far, it's about a 20 minute walk [to school], it's probably 10-15 minutes on a unicycle though," says Alfie.
Video produced by Alex Challies & Callum Rowe.
