Bike On!

Handcycling gives you the choice of strenuous competitive events or leisurely afternoon rides. Take your pick-but whatever you do, get out there and enjoy all the sights and sounds nature has to offer.

Some people say handcycling will soon be more popular than wheelchair pushing. Others believe the latter will never die. Regardless of your opinion, handcycling certainly has come a long way since its development several years ago. The popular sport/recreational activity can be enjoyed by many, and more and more people are taking to the roads and joining their friends and families for cycling outings.

Introduction To Handcycles
by Geoff Hopkins

Why do I want a handcycle? Do I want one for recreational riding with family or friends, or for racing? Do I want an upright or "lowrider" cycle? Can I transfer into a lowrider? If I get one, what size wheels do I want? Should I get a fixed back or adjustable? How many speeds do I need? Do I want lean or pivot/nonlean steering?

These are just a few of the many questions people need to contemplate prior to purchasing handcycles. As you will see in this article, manufacturers offer several different styles/configurations.

Selecting the right equipment can be time-consuming and sometimes confusing. According to veteran handcyclists, those interested in purchasing cycles should first talk with athletes who have logged many miles and can share their personal equipment experiences. Fortunately, through the advent of the Internet, many resources are available for riders of all abilities (see box).

Handcycling Web Sites www.ushf.org http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handcyclists www.handcycie-friends.org www.challengecycling.org www.quinntecentral.com/QuinnsHandcycling.html www.handcycling.com

 

One of my favorite Web sites is the Yahoo Group. According to its moderator, "The group is a forum for avid cyclists and handcyclists to share information about rides, cycling tips, events, training, and tech-talk. The goal is to be helpful and share our passion for cycling and handcycling so others can experience all the great attributes we enjoy."

The group's members include elite racers such as Michel Bond and Tom Foran as well as many people who enjoy recreational handcycling. All the questions listed at the beginning of this article can be easily answered by posting them in this group. Questions are often answered quickly and by many individuals.

In the Beginning

When did handcycling begin? Who first developed a handcycle? Where is the sport going in the future? Who's leading handcycling into the future? Why are more people with disabilities turning to this activity rather than wheelchair pushing? Will handcycling "take over" road racing?

According to United States Handcycling Federation (USHF) treasurer Steve Ackerman, handcycling began in the late 1980s.

"Around the same time as the beginning of handcycling, quite a few guys were already racing in the Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) ranks," USHF chairperson Foran said.

Although no one is certain who first developed the handcycle, Ackerman believes the New England Handcycle, which Bill Waner conceived and fabricated, was one of the originals.

"Other devices such as the Row Cycle and Cycl-One were being produced around the same time period,"Ackerman notes. The Cycl-One was an adaptive device riders attached to their everyday wheelchairs and used for exercise or riding around town.

Ackerman is known as one of the sport's leaders. His first handcycling experience occurred at a 1990 Abilities Expo in Los Angeles when he met David Cornelsen of Huntington Beach, Calif. At the time Cornelsen was participating in Ride Across America to raise funds for spinal-cord research.

As Cornelsen was crossing America, the first exhibition handcycle race took place in conjunction with Seattle's Wheels of Fire Road Race, at one time an event for able-bodied athletes. Eventually organizers included a wheelchair division. Wheels of Fire later changed to a wheelchair-only event and added the handcycle competition in 1990. That exhibition included a number of people who had participated in the HPV races.

Highways and Byways

other handcycling competitions/events began emerging as more people with disabilities took to the road with their fellow able-bodied cyclists. Ride the Rockies, Sadler's Midnight Sun Ultra Challenge, and Access Life's Transcontinental Ride provided opportunities for handcyclistsrecreational and competitive-to crank across America. Ride the Rockies participants rode an average of 75 miles per day for a week through the beautiful high passes of the Colorado Rockies.

According to Ackerman, the AXA World Ride '95, presented by World T.E.A.M. Sports, was pivotal in exposing handcycling to the world. A team of seven cyclists-including three handcyclists-participated in the entire 13,000+mile, eight-month, 14-stage ride around the world.

The 1997 USA Cycling Masters National Championship was the first "official" competition to host a handcycle contest in conjunction with a cycling event.

Although there was controversy among the handcycling community as to where the sport belonged, able-bodied races and cyclists welcomed the sport.

Emerging as the governing body of handcycling, USHF was officially formed at the 1998 World Disabled Cycling Championships. With goals designed to foster and promote the sport's development recreationally and competitively, Wheelchair Sports, U.S.A., accepted USHF as handcycling's national governing body within the United States.

During the same year USHF held the first National Championships for Handcycling in the United States in road race and time trial.

"In 1999, the Road Race and Time Trial National Championships were officially recognized by USA Cycling as the USA Cycling National Championships," Foran said. "Therefore, our national champions received the same `Stars and Stripes' national champion jersey as all USA Cycling National Champions."

USHF began the first national points series and also competed in the Open European Disabled Cycling Championships. USA Cycling added the Criterium event in 2000.

"The sport will again be a part of the World Disabled Cycling Championships in 2002," USHF vice chair-business development Ian Lawless said. "Handcycling was approved as a cycling championship event for the 2004 Paralympics."

Hit the Road

According to a recent article in We Magazine, handcycling is taking off at a rapid pace. "For every sale of one racing wheelchair, three handcycles are sold."
Many people say handcycling is easier to master than wheelchair racing. "The costs are relatively similar, but handcycling is easier to learn and integrates better with family and friends," Foran said.

"The problem with wheelchair racing is [the chairs] are too fast for runners to keep up with and too slow for many bikers to get a good workout," Foran said. "The learning curve for the wheelchair-racing stroke is quite long, and often there is no one to learn from on a local level. With handcycling, you pretty much just get in and go."

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