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The recumbent bike that I have now is a touring bike, which is leg powered. It is primarily used for exercising or getting from point A to point B. As they are rare in Australia there is not enough of them to have a race meet. My other option is to get a hand cycle which has a different setup; it is powered by the upper body by the use of the shoulder, arms and hands. These bikes are more common, with individuals that are paraplegics, quads or people that have MS also being able to use them. With the help from such organisations as a Wheelchair Sports NSW and Team Hand Cycle Australia to name a few, they are able to organise and set up local, state and national hand cycle races. By doing this it gives someone like me something to aim at and look forward to. Once you have obtained yourself a hand cycle and trained with it, you join your local bike club and enter your first race. But prior to this you must be classified into your correct division depending on the extent of your disability, from HC1 through to HC8. My plan is to one day ride a hand cycle for Australia at the Para-Olympics. I would be stoked if I could reach such a level, but if I didn’t, I would still be equally as happy because I would be doing something that I love. Racing the bike would rekindle my competitive spirit that I lost by not being able to play the sports I was once able to. It would also allow me to meet and make new like minded friends as I did when playing football, baseball and surfing. I hope you all wish me luck!
www.paralympic.org.au. This is the official Paralympic website. It shows and tells you everything you need to know about the organisation and a chosen sport.
www.flyingfurniture.com.au. This website introduces you to everything about recumbent bikes
www.australianhandcycleracing.com. This website shows you all there is to know about hand cycles.
www.cyclesportsnews.com. This is another good website that describes hand cycles.
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