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

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

Shawn Giesbrecht says he receives cheers, honks and 'bewildered looks'

Windsor tune-a-cyclist giving range to his performances with a moving show

3 years ago
Duration 1:34
Shawn Giesbrecht has been playing music for 24 years but in the last week he decided to start wheeling around guitar in hand.

Shawn Giesbrechthas 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.

Giesbrechtsaid 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.

Shawn Giesbrecht is a busker that uses an electric unicycle to add range to his performances. He calls it a tune-a-cycle. (Darrin Di Carlo/CBC)

"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 youget on you need balance to get on but once you're on, the momentum just takes you."

Giesbrecht says he thinks people have been missing live music during the pandemic and hopes he is helping fill the gap. (Darrin Di Carlo/CBC)

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."

More from CBC Windsor:

With files from Darrin Di Carlo