On your bike!

If you've already heard of Danny MacAskill, his name is not one you're likely to forget in a hurry. A video showing Danny performing a series of incredible stunts on his trial bike, has been viewed more than 24 million times — turning him into a YouTube sensation. And when you see the video, shot by Danny's flatmate Dave Sowerby, you'll instantly understand why. The stunts include Danny pedalling along a fence in Edinburgh. A fence!

Twenty-five-year-old Danny grew up on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and enjoyed the freedom of being able to bike and practise stunts wherever he liked. His ambition was to become a mechanic and spend his free time biking. Danny's been able to give up his day job and is now a street trials pro.

Danny's latest film follows him returning from Edinburgh to his home village of Dunvegan and completing breathtaking stunts along the way. The video begins with Danny jumping off the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle on his bike.

The video makes it all look easy, but a few seconds of film take hours of practice, many, many attempts and many falls. Danny's been lucky: he's broken his collarbone only three times. He has broken 30 to 40 bike frames, though.

Danny MacAskill is an inspiration. But, perhaps before you start practising your skids, bunny hops and wheelies, you should practise your bicycle vocabulary — maybe not quite as much fun, but definitely a lot less dangerous.

Try our biking vocabulary exercise on the next page.

Dagmar Taylor