HELMET check, Velcro shoes check, sweaty palms and pumping adrenalin check.

It took a leap of faith just to let go of the fence and set off along the flat green inner track at the Manchester Velodrome.

The fixed wheel bike has no brakes or gears so the only way to speed up and more importantly slow down is by using your muscles.

In my case they were muscles I didn't know I had.

Cycling manager Bob Barber had patiently talked me through the motions.

"Don't grip the handlebars too tight or you'll speed wobble," he said. "And if you fall off get up laughing."

I pushed off and glided along surprisingly smoothly. Once I had completed some warm up laps of the base of the 250-metre track it was time to try the sleek shiny and downright frightening sloped wooden surface of the main track.

I started by moving up to a gentle lower slope known as the Cote d'Azur. It was essential to get my speed up in order to balance out the G-force and stop myself flying sideways.

From the Cote d'Azur I progressed a foot further to the black datum line then the red sprinters line. The safety of the green base got further and further away but I hardly noticed.

At 20-miles per hour everything around me became a blur. The green plastic spectators' seats and the voices of the training Paralympic team faded away. There was just me, the bike and the speed.

By the time I got to the blue stayers line I felt like I was flying. It was exhilarating to be so entirely focused and literally on the edge.

When I made my way back down to safety my hands were shaky and my legs felt like they belonged to someone else. The adrenalin was still pumping.

The biggest fear had been knowing that once your feet are clipped to the bike pedals there's no getting off but then again once you're on a bike at the Velodrome you don't want to get off.

Taster sessions at the Velodrome cost £9.30 for adults or £7.20 for concessions. Tel: 0161 223 2244.