THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If you ever wanted to get adventurous and try biking no-handed, then German native David Schnabel can be an inspiration. Him defying the laws of physics, as he executes amazing tricks - squats, jumps and saddle stand - on his bike can be absolutely awe-inspiring. Well, one can see Schnabel perform artistic cycling at Manaveeyam Veedhi on Sunday.
From pulling a headstand or a handstand, there is nothing much Schnabel can’t do. Says Schnabel, who started doing this 26 years ago: “I was always interested in sports. It was then that my dad introduced me to artistic cycling. I started with small tricks like balancing my foot on the handlebar and then graduated to tough ones,” said David.
Eight-time winner of artistic cycling world championship, it was in 2005 that David performed for the first time in a championship. It remains a special memory for him. “I had my exams at that week. I was very thrilled to perform before a huge crowd and the feedback was amazing,” he added.
David has participated in many championships held in Australia, Portugal, Japan and Germany. In these countries, artistic cycling is quite popular. “It is a privilege to perform before 80,000 people. I enjoy riding and each stage is a venue to do something unique and different. I keep on learning tricks,” said Schnabel.
“There are tricks which can be learnt in a week while some take as long as five years. I usually practice for two hours a week while it takes 30 hours for hand tricks,” says the German acrobat.
The bike he uses is different. Unlike the normal ones, it has no gear, no brakes and has a more flexible handlebar. The sport requires a special floor too.He credits his achievements to his father, who is his teacher.
“I was lucky to have my dad as my teacher. He too learnt tricks with me” says Schnabel who is training four children in Germany in artistic cycling. He is thrilled about his performance at Manaveeyam Veedhi. “It is a very special moment for me as this is the first time I will be performing before a crowd which is not familiar with the sport. As this is my first time in India, I would like to explore more. I hope this sport would catch up in India,” he winds up.