Originally Posted by
kayakplayer
My question for you is, what does it mean to you to be able to cycle? How does it affect your lifestyle, and what would it mean to you if that activity hadn't been made available to you? If you shared this already in another thread, please forgive me and point me there. But seeing your offer to help a fellow cyclist, I felt compelled to ask.
It means a lot. I started running in 1976, ran cross country/track in high school and college and continued until 2004 when I was hit riding to work. The resulting injuries prevent me from running or riding a standard bike.
I would hate to have been unable to be as active as I was before and since we no longer have a car, being fit means being able to run errands with the handcycle(and trailer).
As far as your student, my opinion is that a handcycle would benefit her but she still needs to maintain some work on her legs/hips to maintain what she has. Does she use a wheelchair at all? You can get a towbar to haul a chair behind the bike.