gew0419

I was peddling home from work one day and saw a little, low to the ground trike on the bike path up ahead of me. The guy was going pretty slow and looked like he was struggling a little. When I caught up to him I found out why. He was on a hand peddle trike. He had no legs and his left arm was gone at the elbow. As I passed him I thought, "This guy has taken away all my excuses."
Ever since that day, when I get up in the morning and think "I just don't feel like riding today", I think of him and get on my bike and go to work. I wish I could meet that guy again so I could tell him how much he has inspired me, but I have not seen him since.
Do any of you have any stories to share like this. I would like to hear them.

Longhorn

Your inspiration is certainly better than mine, though now, I'll remember the hero you passed on the trike!

Mine has been to get fit, lose weight, and keep it off. And I also remind myself of how much money I've spent getting my bikes all set up and equipped.

ppc

You definitely need a recumbent to put the fun back into your rides :-) You really sounds like you cycle because you have to, and nothing more.


Knowing disabled people, I'm careful about being inspired by them, because I know they usually don't want to be a source of inspiration, just live their lives like everybody else. However, there's one story I like about a disabled kid who wanted to bike, and a custom bike builder, Bram Smit from Fastfwd, who built him a bike, then decided to sell it for other similarly disabled kids at a reasonable price. The story is here:

https://www.fastfwd.nl/eng/artikel-1.php
https://www.fastfwd.nl/eng/yepp.php

aikigreg

Dude on a handtrike SMOKED a ton of people on the last ride I participated in. I didn't even catch upto him until about 5 miles from the finish.

Patellapedler

I have to say, the excitement of riding along traffic gets me going. The fact that I love the "fun" factor of riding helps me get out there, I really feel like a kid. I love not really sweating while I know I am working my legs like crazy. The fact that I like my bike enough to want to ride around here. The fact that I can! On almost all of my runs, rides, workouts I am always thanking God for giving me the opportunity and ability to do what I can and allowing me to enjoy it so much. Honestly, I feel sorry for those I see riding in the car smoking. What it comes down to though is that I love biking, and I love how it makes me feel.

Cyclaholic

How cool is that! I'll remember that guy when I beat myself up for coming home way below my usual average speed.

I don't really have a specific motivation, it's just part of life, like sleeping.

R600DuraAce

Just the motion of riding and pedaling themselves are sufficient. On my 4th or 5th day I would be so happy not need to ride anymore because I have done enough miles already.

spingineer

Only motivation I have is to get in miles during the week. And yes, alternative to driving a gas guzzling car adds to the motivation, but it's not the only reason.

oboeguy

Wow that guy is amazing!

My motivation? I love to ride. It would feel like a wasted opportunity if I didn't. I guess that's like your motivation: I'm happy that I can ride so I do.

zebano

I love to ride, and commuting is the only way to fit exersize/riding into my schedule

RT

Great story. My motivation comes from a friend who recently lost his right foot due to a congenital blood disease. He now wears a prosthesis, but has been unable to do anything athletic for a year. I don't know what I would do if I could not ride my bike...

sydney_b

With 3 boys and a full-time job I find my commuting time to be quite relaxing ... just me time. Also love the fact that I can observe people's gardens, yards, etc. when not zipping by in a car. Every day I see something I'm glad I got a chance to see that I would have missed had I been in a car. This morning included some birds that looked like starlings except that there was a yellow patch on the backs of their heads. I don't know what they were and have a mystery to solve over lunch.

jeff-o

Yeah but he wasn't going one-handed, was he?

That's an awesome story about that other guy though. One-handed... yeesh, I'd probably be able to keep that up for about 5 minutes before my arm died.