Meet the busker riding around Windsor on a 'tune-a-cycle'

Shawn Giesbrecht has been playing music for 24 years, but recently he decided to add some wheels to his busking routine. 

In the last week or so, Giesbrecht has started riding an electric unicycle while he plays his guitar.

What some might call another level of difficulty, Giesbrecht calls another level of enjoyment.

"Oh, people love it. Like either cheers, honks. Just mostly just like bewildered looks, you know?" he said.

Giesbrecht said he had been taking a break from playing music and was having a tough year, but recently decided to get up and start singing again.

"I had kind of taken a break from it and was just having a hard time in life. And, you know, things started really turning around for me earlier this year," he said.

"And so now I'm just like, 'You know what, I'm just going to start doing what I want to do, what I love to do,' and I'm really enjoying it."

'Learning curve'

Giesbrecht said he hasn't used a regular unicycle before but he had experience on an electric skateboard, which helped prepare him for this.

"The learning curve wasn't that bad for me. There is definitely a curve because you kind of have to get used to the sensation of falling but knowing you're not going to fall because it's self-balancing, so it wants to keep you going, right?" he said.

"It's all about momentum. Once you get on — you need balance to get on — but once you're on, the momentum just takes you."

Giesbrecht said he thinks people are enjoying his work in part because the pandemic has stopped a lot of musical performances.

"I think if anything, I've been encountering benefits because there haven't been concerts and all that. So people want live music," he said.

"I think they appreciate what I do. I came in at the perfect time."

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