The great aspect of hand cycling for me was the idea, - my arms were very strong from using crutches for mobility, there were usually three wheels on hand cycles, which meant balance would not be an issue for me.
So, as I remember the feeling when I felt like I could resume my cycling if I could find a good hand cycle to get back that freedom to ride which I lost with the mobility issues around pedaling with legs.
Through much research, I found my first, early hand cycle, that I used on my first journey was designed by a friend from Boston, who was an mechanical engineering student at MIT when he designed this hand cycle.
Have you ever traveled? (Biking related) (Gone on any tours?)
Matthew, I have been fortunate to have traveled quite a bit and much of it has involved cycling in some way. In all my years of handcycling, I have kept track of the miles I have handcycled, and the different tours, and the training I have done. Overall, I have cycled more than 75,000 miles in all my adventures.
My first big cycling adventure involved packing up my sleeping bag, other gear, bike repair kit, food and water - cycling into Logan airport in Boston on my handcycle and getting on a plane to London. In London, I cycled out of the airport with all my gear and spent a couple of weeks cycling/exploring around England and Wales. Visiting all kinds of places in London (museums, castles, and other historic landmarks) then cycled west to Stonehenge and on to the country of Wales.
Two great aspects of traveling by handcycle, is that folks really respect people when they travel under their own power; i.e. by bike, or hiking/walking; and second is that the handcycle itself, gets a lot of attention, because people are often curious about how it works and are often amazed by how many miles per day you can average. There were several occasions when I arrived in a town and someone wanted to buy me a ‘pint’ of beer at a local pub, because they saw me arrive in their town that afternoon and wanted to hear of my travels.
On that trip to England and Wales - my first handcycle weighed around 52 lbs. (kind of heavy) and I had another 30-40 lbs. of gear and I averaged around 45-50 miles per day some days. Hillier routes were a little slower and took longer. Much of my cycling in England and Wales was a little tricky for two reasons; vehicles travel on the other side of the road and they are very windy and bicycles and pedestrians really did not have much of the right of way on their back roads, etc.
What were some of your travels/tours like?
Matthew, I have had some really amazing adventures.
Two years after the trip to England and Wales, I was part of a American Youth Hostel cycling adventure in China; a couple of weeks cycling through different parts of China. This was a supported trip, which means that there are folks along to help take your gear to the next stop along your travels. This means that you focus on the cycling and not have to carry all your gear. This journey was only a few years after China opened it’s borders to travelers from the west. As you can imagine, we were unusual visitors to the country and every where we traveled; we were surrounded by curious Chinese citizens looking at us, our bicycles, our handcycles. We visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China and many other local markets and communities. We ate all kinds of food, some very unusual to us and often very tasty. We were lead by a bicycling organization from China, which decided everywhere we were allowed to go and what we were to see. It was amazing for me. I wanted to continue my travels.
Another aspect of my travels were the people I met along the way, the friends I made. Some friends I made during these journeys are still friends all these years later.
The next big cycling trip I was fortunate to be involved with was my first cycling trip across the United State. It happened a few years later when a group of us cycled 4,150 miles from the coast of Washington to the coast of New Hampshire. This trip was planned in advance to raise awareness about outdoor recreational opportunities for disabled athletes and bring awareness to the challenges of architectural accessibility. Also another purpose, which was often the case was to raise money for different programs which helped people. This trip was organized by two non-profit organizations in New Hampshire, one of which was Northeast Passage, based in Durham, N.H. One of their missions, their purpose as an organization, to create opportunities for folks with a disability, to participate in sports and recreation. A chance to be active and participating members of society.