Blog: 'I find handcycling is a really good release'
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday through the year.
In 2016 we’ll be taking a look at an A-Z of accessible sporting and fitness opportunities available to disabled people. This week it’s H for Handcycling, and Ian Durrant discusses clocking up the miles on tarmac and trails.
Read more in the A-Z blog series here.
Ian’s blog:
Handcycling is a nice little piece of freedom if you do have a disability, and I know a lot of people who feel that way.
On a deeper level, if you are a wheelchair user then to be able to participate in a sport where you can leave your chair behind and compete alongside your friends and family is just wonderful. I ride alongside all sorts of people these days and many don’t want to come out with me because I’m faster than them!
I am a wheelchair user and have been for 25 years. About five years ago I went to buy a new chair from a supplier who are also heavily involved in wheelchair sport. They had some recumbent handbikes in the showroom, and I’d never seen one before. It was pure ‘boys and their toys’, and I just knew I wanted one.
I used to enjoy cycling anyway, before my accident. I saved up some money and bought a second-hand handcycle, and I just loved it.
You use slightly different muscles when you push your wheelchair versus pulling a handcycle. You lie down and are rotating your arms on two cranks. I found that the first time I tried handcycling I actually found I was already quite good, because I am an active wheelchair user. It is relatively easy, and it is not hard on your joints and muscles.
If you are not particularly strong when you start you could opt for a bike with an in-built mechanism which, when you get tired, will kick in and help you. There are lots of different types of bikes.
I mainly enjoy road cycling or using local places like Windsor Park in Reading. But I don’t commute on my recumbent handcycle, because I feel the route is too busy and I don’t think there is enough awareness in the UK about cyclists’ safety.
A few years ago I contacted HandCycling Association UK (HCAUK) – they run taster days aimed at beginners. I attended one and met people, and the whole thing span on from there.
Find a HCAUK taster session and go and have a go. Or, because there are lots of suppliers of handcycles here in Britain, go and try one in a showroom, or even ask to borrow one for a weekend. Go out with friends and family, and you’ll soon find you’re able to go faster than in your day chair.
Handcycling is quite contemplative pastime. My mind will wander off while I’m cycling, and I’ll come home having had some ideas. Silly things, work ideas, other things. I’m giving my brain loads of chemicals, released by exercise. I feel my brain then rewards me with ideas and thoughts.
I find handcycling is a really good release, as I work in a stressful job. And it often gives you a real sense of achievement.
