I got my ass kicked by a one legged cyclist
06-25-10, 12:51 AM
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I got my ass kicked by a one legged cyclist
Today, I rode my SS Volpe on the Phoenix MUP paths and canals to meet a business colleague and friend for breakfast, about a 25 mile round trip. On the way home, it was way hot and I was dogging it on the North Indian Bend Wash path, say 16-17 mph. All of a sudden, this guy on a tricked out MTB with 1" slicks blows by me. I kick up to see what this was all about. Then I notice, he has one leg and has his prothesis strapped on his rear rack. With one leg, he is blowing by me at 20mph. He was bone thin which makes sense and cranking the one leg at 100+ rpm, . I follow him for about four miles, amazed at what he is doing. We exchange greetings and parted. This guy must have had balls the size of melons. I wanted to talk to him. How do you start? How do you stop? Amazing.
Last edited by RFC; 06-25-10 at 08:39 AM.
06-25-10, 12:55 AM
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I've seen that before. Similarly, when I was a kid, one of the guys that worked at the LBS had two legs but one was atrophied to the point of uselessness. He had moved across country on his bike.
06-25-10, 01:06 AM
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did he fall over when he kicked your ass? 
06-25-10, 03:22 AM
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If he was a red-headed guy with only a right leg it was likely Ken Foraker. He was a super strong roadie in the 90's as a junior and got hit by a car, raced MTB for Yeti back in the day (with one leg). A drunk driver took his leg and killed his friends.
06-25-10, 06:12 AM
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Another one legged MTBer, Brett Wolf I believe, rode 24 hour races solo and did more laps than most 4 man teams on extremely rugged terrain. He was at 24 Hours of Snowshoe in 2000..........very difficult course.
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06-25-10, 07:22 AM
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A friend of mine lost his leg while in the Army and has been my major motivating factor to get off my butt and start riding again. He says he not a better rider than me, just lighter weight.... I love hearing stories of people who don't let there injuries slow them down
06-25-10, 08:02 AM
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I used to see a SCUBA diver down here in Fl., with one leg. He did quite well. Used a " large web glove " on the opposing hand to propel & keep balanced .
06-25-10, 08:20 AM
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I have encountered several above-knee and below-knee amputees who use prosthetics very successfully for bicycling. I think Vietnam veteran Jim Penseyres, Pete's brother, still holds the record for a below-knee amputee in the Race Across AMerica (RAAM). I have heard stories about folks who ride with one leg and no prosthesis, and these completely blow me away, because I have ridden a mile in their shoe(s), so to speak. When I dislocated my left kneecap in the early 1990s (after having also done so in high school in 1967), I removed the left crank and tried riding my mountain bike with one leg. That was one tough workout, and I think I had to use the granny chainring the whole time.
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Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
06-25-10, 08:56 AM
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Back in '76 I was living in Corvallis OR. The Trans America (Bikecentennial) Trail went just outside of town, so just about every ride that summer I crossed paths with folks headed for Virginia. The most memorable was a guy from Missoula, MT. Right leg gone at the hip. He had a crutch strapped to the toptube, and a steel counterweight in place of his right pedal. And he was LEADING a group all the way across country. Talk about an inspiration!
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