Patriot

As I rode to work today on my trusty Centurion roadie, I took the Cushman Powerline trail along SR-16. Anyway, as I approached the east end of the trail, I decided to stop for a quick swig. I then noticed two cyclists getting ready for a ride. One was a gal (I suppose his wife) on her roadie, the other was a guy sitting on his recumbent.

I thought, "Cool ,a 'bent." As I apporoached, I soon realized this was no ordinary recumbent. It was one of those tricycle type 'bents, with the two rear wheels slanted inward. "Double cool". I then noticed that it had no pedals.... or cranks.

???

Instead, it had those arm cranks. I have seen these before with both cranks so you can switch back and forth from your arms to your legs. But this one had only arm cranks.

What was even more strange, is that it had only one arm crank on the right side.

???

As I came to a stop, I commented, "That is the neatest setup I've ever seen." It really was quite fantastic.

The rider said, "Well, I'm down to one arm, but it does the trick."

Being a bike dork, I didn't even look at the guy very closely until he said that. I then noticed, he had no legs. Ok...

But he also had only one arm. "WOW!!!"

I told him he was an inspiration to anyone who ever thinks they aren't in good enough shape to ride a bike, and that I wish I had my camera. He said, that I made his day. I told them both to enjoy the weather and have good ride, then I got back to my commute. All of a sudden, all of my problems in life seemed rather moot.

I couldn't help but think about that guy all the way to work, and wondered how I would tell this little tale.

I guess, just the facts are all that's needed.

It's going to be quite awhile before I complain about the rain again.

celticfrost

Holy Moly, that is cool. I'd like to see his setup.

Definitely something for all of us to keep in mind.

KevinF

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. We -- myself included -- often forget just how lucky we are.

jsharr

Thanks for the story El Presidente! Sometimes we all need a reminder of how blessed we are to lead a normal life.

RacerMike

Very, very cool story. Thanks for sharing it.

Mike

partbug

Very Well Said

GP

Check these guys out - https://www.challengedathletes.org/ They're a good group.

Dead Roman

Amazing, very humbling.

superdex

I hear ya.

On the Elephant Rock ride couple weeks ago I came across a rider with a prosthetic leg from the knee down. Truly, truly inspiring.

ravenmore

Awesome story Patriot. Along the same lines, I saved this picture to help bring me around whenever I'm feeling sorry for myself - it just kind of impressed me.

here and there

Wow, thanks for sharing that story (that's a great picture too ravenmore). That guy must really be passionate about cycling to be out there riding with one arm.

woodcycl

Great Story Patriot!! One of our club riders has a $12k bent ... full carbon fiber ... a sight to see. He also has one of the trikes similar to what you say today, but with pedals. I love checking out different biking concepts and setups! The owner loves all of them ... and rides all of them frequently and can hang with the fast guys in the club. Amazing.

Your story was truly inspiring! Thanks for sharing it with us.

.:Jimbo:.

Im a car-free guy, but during one ride i started wondering, what would it take to get me to buy a car and drive it, and i started to understand how i took my legs for granted, and realized that if was unfortunate to not have two working legs, i might not have gotten into to cycling or driven enough to stay with it. Its always nice to see how passionate people are about things they love and enjoy to find ways to persue it, no matter how many or how big the obstacles are along the way.

(Y(L|S+

Thanks for sharing that inspirational story, Patriot. Sounds like he has a great outlook on life. He didn't let his disability get him down. He's out there still hittin' the trail. I hope that if something like that ever happened to me that I would have the inner strength to keep on riding.

hiromian

I love this place. thanks Patriot.

the beef

Very cool, something I'll definitely think about before I complain next time.

spinnaker

This is amazing. Just the other day I wondered how I would be able to ride if I lost an arm when I couldn't even place a dowrap on my head with one hand. It is truly comforting to know that you can find a way to overcome most any disability.

The picture above reminds me of a lady that I see every day and really admire. This lady has all her arms and legs but barely has control of her legs. She has to use crutches. She practically drags herself up the stairs in front of her office everyday. It really makes me feel guilty thinking how much I hate coming into work and would rather be out riding.

gcl8a

Out of curiosity, how does he steer? I think the double arm rigs allow you to steer with the cranks, which is why(?) they have the cranks in parallel, not opposed like bike cranks. I don't see how you could do that with one crank, since you'd wobble back and forth all over the road.

Did you happen to notice?

mimis

i wish posts like that would show more often to make us reconsider our twisted priorities in life

HAMMER MAN

very inspirational!

A few years back I talked to a young man who had lost his leg in the invasion of Panama , his lower leg about 2-3 inches below the knee we rode togeather for about 15 miles and discussed our disabilities, I am deaf from military service and we talked about the different challenges we end up having to meet, and how it has actually made us a better person, {strange how something like that can change you}

his spirit, attitude, and I can do was very moving.

He told me after losing his leg, he went into deep depression started drinking and a friend bought him a bike and helped him acquire everything he needed ever since he has been riding and told me very seldom does he dwell in self pity. "He said this gave me a new life".

Six months ago close to my home I ran into two guys one on a regular bike the other on a semi type bent he was paraylized from the chest down a accident while he was in the Army.
He was pedaling with his arms and his buddy on the bike carried extra water for him to put into a ice chest type pack around his chest to help him keep cool, the injury being a parpalegic had caused him to lose the ability to sweat,and we talked for about ten miles.
His buddy did the same pulled him out of a depressive state, The paraylized man told me his fiancee told him see ya later, and he wen into a funk.
His buddy directed him towards the bent, and they ride togeather as often as possible
He was training for his first Century.
Both inspirational atheletes!!!!!!

gmight

Im at a loss for words, some dust in the air I think or something...

thanks man, very cool story...

gurana

There's this guy that frequents the Baltimore-Annapolis trail. I had never seen a recumbent before where you powered it with your arms. Intrigued by this I chase him down and chat him up a little. When I get closer, it becomes obvious that this is a home made deal. Super nice guy, and he was more than willing to talk about his creation. I left with a similar awe and wonder for that guy.

Mariner Fan

Great Story Patriot. I too saw a rider with a prosthetic leg on my last ride. Very inspirational.

SpongeDad

It really does put things in perspective. I say a guy with no legs pulling up one of the big hills at the PA Dutch MS 150 last year on a 'bent. He wasn't going particularly slowly either.

oboeguy

Wow! I've seen no-leg guys with the handcranked 'bents, but never a guy with just ONE arm. WOW.

On the Hudson Greenway the other day I saw a guy, probably around 30ish in age, running with presumably his wife/GF, apparently learning to jog with one of those bouncy prosthetic legs designed for the atheletic types who've lost a leg. For once I didn't mind the two abreast peds on the Greenway...