A performer talks about what it’s like being in this year’s Chingay parade

SINGAPORE — We’re not Grand Prix racers but here we are, zipping down the racetrack in front of the F1 Pit Building — at a breezy 20km/h on our electric unicycles (EUC).

The team from local EUC interest group The Wheelies formed up alongside each other on battery-powered motorised single-wheeled rides; all of which have been uniquely decorated and bling-ed up with LEDs to reflect their owners’ personalities.

The reason I’m doing this is because I was invited to join The Wheelies as part of this year’s Chingay procession, happening tonight and tomorrow. The team, in turn, was invited by the People’s Association (PA) to come up with an item and we have been rehearsing since November.

Thomas Hoon, the 39-year-old co-founder of The Wheelies, revealed how the involvement started. “We had participated in other high profile events before, such as Singapore Racial Harmony Day, Punggol Street Festival, and Passion Fiesta. We’re also an official PA trainer for electric unicycling classes ... so when PA asked if we’re interested to be part of Chingay, we didn’t hesitate.

“It’s an opportunity to raise the profile of EUC not just locally, but also globally. We’re creating history as the first electric unicycling group in the world to perform in a street parade!”

As a group of 40 volunteers, The Wheelies clocked more than 50 hours of training and rehearsal time. But even during those rehearsals, excitement was crisp in the air.

There was a certain sense of pride watching the guys perform nifty stunts on wheels: Gracefully riding backwards, gliding in fancy circles, skillfully crossing each other’s paths. It looked easy but it took us months to get our act together.

Much thought went into choreography and sequence planning for the stunts and to ensure that everything flowed smoothly. While there were no serious collisions during the rehearsals, everyone had their share of bumps trying to multitask and coordinate not just our own balance but having everyone in-sync, while displaying feats on wheels, such as the stunt where pairs of performers hook their ankles together and spin around on one leg (a la figure skaters).

I first met The Wheelies last January after we both were on Mediacorp’s The 5 Show, and it piqued my interest: Not only is the EUC an environmentally friendly urban travel alternative, it’s also not that difficult to ride if you have a sense of balance. It took me an evening to master my ride — riders control their EUCs by leaning forward or backward to go forward, accelerate, decelerate or brake, and achieve balance by tilting slightly sideways. Needless to say, that came along with some inevitable scrapes and tumbles (I was thrown off once and nearly landed on my face, if not for my quick reflexes.)

Still, as daunting as it may seem at first, you do get that eventual thrill of accomplishment when you master the EUC. (Remember how you felt when you first rode your bike?)

The Wheelies isn’t just an all-guys club — the group also include five other ladies and seven children. The oldest performing team member is 53 and the youngest is only seven years old. And the time spent mastering the EUC was completely worth it, said father-and-son riders, Edmund and Ethan Lim.

“Our act will be one of modern technology being used in a very fun and practical way, but the main reason we decided to take part in this year’s Chingay is to showcase the electric unicycle to more Singaporeans, and to also show how safe and convenient it is,” said Lim.

Apart from showing their EUC skills, the 40-year-old sales manager shared that their involvement in this year’s Chingay procession gave him some bonding time with his 12-year-old, whom he taught how to wheel. They last performed together at Singapore Night Festival 2015 (even taking a picture after with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who had watched their smooth stunts on the EUC).

But right now, everyone’s attention is on tonight’s performance.

“Our first full-dress rehearsal had a few hiccups,” admitted the group’s timekeeper, 40-year-old sales director, Dennis Lam. “But we quickly realised we needed to be flexible and adapt to on-site changes, such as not pegging our choreography based on the given Chingay music, since it’s a ‘live’ show.”

He continued: “Technical issues will happen, which are beyond our control. The initial space given to us, for example, was a little congested with other groups sharing the performance area, but all that was resolved after PA made adjustments from the feedback we provided.”

Fortunately for The Wheelies, the Chingay organisers were impressed with the act — so impressed in fact, that the Wheelies were requested to create another EUC performance set for the pre-parade segment.

I never expected to fall in love with the EUC, much less perform at Singapore’s largest street performance and float parade. Although it has been a fun ride getting to this point, what were certainly more amazing were getting to know the people involved and forming bonds in this celebration of friendship.

Chingay 2016: Lights Of Legacy, Brighter Singapore is on tonight and tomorrow night. Tickets from SISTIC. You can catch the live stream of the parade at http://chingay.org.sg