For the first time in 3 years, I rode a bike. I fell a time or two when first getting on but once I found my rhythm I could have rode for miles. It was dark so I didn't get to ride for long but this experience has me extremely excited. I'm already walking without canes and now I can ride a bike. Hell yeah.
Click the picture for the story of Calypso, the Three Legged Green Sea Turtle, and why she's my symbol
Showing posts with label biking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biking. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Spring is here! That means biking again!
It's starting to warm up here in North Carolina. We regularly get temperatures of 50 degrees, though generally it's much colder in the mornings and evenings. The flowers, sensing the change in season, are beginning to bud and flower. The trees have yet to notice it seems but they will be soon to follow.
This is the perfect weather for biking, which I love to do at least once a week. My sister, the musically talented Helen Exner, performed at benefit concerts to raise money for any adaptive equipment I might need. That money went toward a new handbike, the best form of adaptive biking for someone in my situation.
It has a hand crank that acts as both handlebars and brakes. I'm able to get the exercise I need and the speed I crave all in one. I found out about this through Steve Ackerman, a paraplegic who not only races handbikes but sells them out of his home in Fort Collins, CO. Though he may not be near you, chances are he can ship one to you. You can contact Steve Ackerman at steve@freedomryder.com.
Having this cycle has opened up a whole new world to me, one I had almost forgotten existed. For most of college I didn't have a car, getting around by bike instead. I spent countless hours crossing the city to and fro. After my injury I was put on a stim-bike, a machine that combines motor powered movement with electrical stimulation. There has been research suggesting that this type of "Activity Based Rehab" increases function return in some patients. When I was put on the bike I turned on my ipod and daydreamed about biking across town on my way to class, work, or volunteering.
Those images haunted me for a long time, with their simplicity, beauty, and the fact that they were beyond my reach for good (or so I thought). When I was finally able to travel the road on my handbike all of that changed; I was fast, I was invincible, I was the MAN! I reconnected with a part of myself that I thought was gone forever.
Though the initial enthusiasm has worn off, I still get excited when it's warm enough to bike. I can bike the trails near my house, seeing parts of the woods previously unexplored. I can get my nature freak on! Whatever it is that you most like to do, chances are it can be adapted for people with various disabilities. Take charge of your life and do what makes you happy!
This is the perfect weather for biking, which I love to do at least once a week. My sister, the musically talented Helen Exner, performed at benefit concerts to raise money for any adaptive equipment I might need. That money went toward a new handbike, the best form of adaptive biking for someone in my situation.
It has a hand crank that acts as both handlebars and brakes. I'm able to get the exercise I need and the speed I crave all in one. I found out about this through Steve Ackerman, a paraplegic who not only races handbikes but sells them out of his home in Fort Collins, CO. Though he may not be near you, chances are he can ship one to you. You can contact Steve Ackerman at steve@freedomryder.com.
My bike looks like this only painted red instead of green.
Having this cycle has opened up a whole new world to me, one I had almost forgotten existed. For most of college I didn't have a car, getting around by bike instead. I spent countless hours crossing the city to and fro. After my injury I was put on a stim-bike, a machine that combines motor powered movement with electrical stimulation. There has been research suggesting that this type of "Activity Based Rehab" increases function return in some patients. When I was put on the bike I turned on my ipod and daydreamed about biking across town on my way to class, work, or volunteering.
The stim-bike looked very similar to this machine here, though without the arm portion.
Those images haunted me for a long time, with their simplicity, beauty, and the fact that they were beyond my reach for good (or so I thought). When I was finally able to travel the road on my handbike all of that changed; I was fast, I was invincible, I was the MAN! I reconnected with a part of myself that I thought was gone forever.
Though the initial enthusiasm has worn off, I still get excited when it's warm enough to bike. I can bike the trails near my house, seeing parts of the woods previously unexplored. I can get my nature freak on! Whatever it is that you most like to do, chances are it can be adapted for people with various disabilities. Take charge of your life and do what makes you happy!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
On Biking and Puppy Tricks
As many of you know I have been experimenting with different forms of biking. I have used prepackaged electrical stim bikes, stationary recumbent bikes, handbikes...
My sister and I biking during her trip out to see me.
Stopping to pet an the neighbor's dog, who was adorable.
The view from a handbike.
To add another to the mix I am now using a stationary upright bike, the kind they use for spin classes. It is a little tricky getting on, since I have to hop, but once I'm on it's smooth sailing. I've been doing this for a little over a month and feel I'm really starting to get the hang of it.
Me on the spin bike.
My left foot stays attached using a pair of bike shoes with special cleats on the sole of the shoe. This is the type of shoe that lets professional bikers stay clicked into their tiny pedals.
I have good control over the left leg now, minus the ankle. The shoes keep my foot from going anywhere which allows my leg to use the bike as I normally would. This hints at a similar bike in the future, though not anytime soon.
My mom playing with the video function on the camera.
The bike is a vast improvement over the recumbent bikes. Though they offer more back support, the seated position is uncomfortable and not ideal. By having my back upright I can stay vertical and work on balance, keeping my legs and hips happier in the process.
The sign hanging on the wall, most likely from the spin classes. Yikes!
Puppy Tricks
Now I love my mother dearly, since she has pulled me through this whole experience. One of her perhaps less endearing habits is to say to me "hey why don't you just...", asking me to do some feat or another. She has a fond habit of doing this when we are visiting with company, passing acquaintances, when we meet random strangers... My family has taken to calling these my "puppy tricks". These tricks are not particularly difficult or bad for me in any way, but they do leave me with the odd feeling of being a show dog.
Here is me showing off that I can in fact pick up stuff off the floor:
My sister and I biking during her trip out to see me.
Stopping to pet an the neighbor's dog, who was adorable.
The view from a handbike.To add another to the mix I am now using a stationary upright bike, the kind they use for spin classes. It is a little tricky getting on, since I have to hop, but once I'm on it's smooth sailing. I've been doing this for a little over a month and feel I'm really starting to get the hang of it.
Me on the spin bike.
My left foot stays attached using a pair of bike shoes with special cleats on the sole of the shoe. This is the type of shoe that lets professional bikers stay clicked into their tiny pedals.
I have good control over the left leg now, minus the ankle. The shoes keep my foot from going anywhere which allows my leg to use the bike as I normally would. This hints at a similar bike in the future, though not anytime soon.
My mom playing with the video function on the camera.
The bike is a vast improvement over the recumbent bikes. Though they offer more back support, the seated position is uncomfortable and not ideal. By having my back upright I can stay vertical and work on balance, keeping my legs and hips happier in the process.
The sign hanging on the wall, most likely from the spin classes. Yikes!Puppy Tricks
Now I love my mother dearly, since she has pulled me through this whole experience. One of her perhaps less endearing habits is to say to me "hey why don't you just...", asking me to do some feat or another. She has a fond habit of doing this when we are visiting with company, passing acquaintances, when we meet random strangers... My family has taken to calling these my "puppy tricks". These tricks are not particularly difficult or bad for me in any way, but they do leave me with the odd feeling of being a show dog.
Here is me showing off that I can in fact pick up stuff off the floor:
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