ADAPTING TO DIFFERING SITUATIONS
 !! How various families have coped with changes in their own lives !!

Some very different stories of very different families and how they have not only adapted but what they have also achieved in the process .. be both moved and inspired, it just goes to show where there is a will, there will always be a way through .. another inspirational story is that of Bob and Louise who are deaf and blind but cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats on a tandem in 2008 .. ..


 Also for information on how to adapt an EXISTING wheel chair into pedal power, click here ..

 
Great Rides: -

The first is a solo event even if it is electric assisted and the next two are using tandems, for Bob and Louise's story, click the link given above in the intro!!

Solo solution one ... go check this one out ... http://www.martinsymons.com/journeyacrossengland.htm - this is an amazing story and something you really need to read for yourself ... this is just a sampler of what he has to contend with ..  Although it's four wheels it's technically a wheelchair but it is an off road one and does go where mountain bikes can go!

If you click on either picture of Martin, it will take you to the Molten Rock website, Molten Rock being the company who manufacture the Boma .. it's something he'd love to be able to afford having only borrowed it for his Coast to Coast journey so if anyone has any fund raising ideas which might help him achieve his dream, as he says, "If however, I was able to purchase a boma (£8,000+), I may be able to join a mainstream mountain bike group!" then get in touch with him.

This is what he tells us about himself on his website as per the above link ... 

I have a rare condition called Klippel-Feil Syndrome, anomalies of the kidneys and the ribs, cleft palate, respiratory problems, and heart malformations. The disorder also may be associated with abnormalities of the head and face, skeleton, sex organs, muscles, brain and spinal cord, arms, legs, and fingers.)  It creates a fusion in the cervical spine. Depending on the area of fusion, there can be related congenital conditions.  In my case, I was born with a cleft palate, hearing loss, underbite, short neck with webbing (trapezius muscles are extended from the mastoid areas to the shoulders), painless restriction of cervical movement, scoliosis, and kyphosis and a rare aplastic anaemia.

Despite my disability, I have been part of a crew bringing the Samuel Whitbread back from Germany via the Netherlands (1989), has been part of expeditions to Snowden (1993) and Ben Nevis (1994).  In 1995, the lack of appropriate support for people with my adventurous streak led to setting up High Hopes Adventures, charity which organised adventure holidays for disabled people.

Trips have included trekking and rafting in the Himalayas, trekking in the Picos De Europa, various multi activity weeks in Devon and Wales. I have also been canoeing down the Miño River, on the Spanish/Portuguese border in July 1999 and 2000.

My past endeavours have received support from Rotary Club of Malling, Rotary Club of Malling and Kentish Vale Round Table. I have also been supported by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s Sports and Arts Development Award scheme where I received a grant for sporting excellence; Kent County Council’s volunteering excellence and Freedom in sport Award for outstanding achievements.

Since December 2007, I have lived in Norfolk. I am member of Norfolk Coalition for Disabled People (NCODP) and Norfolk Links. I enjoy Tai Chi and sailing and would like to get into cycling (using the boma!!)

(Klippel-Feil Syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by the congenital fusion of any 2 of the 7 cervical (neck) vertebrae. It is caused by a failure in the normal segmentation or division of the cervical vertebrae during the early weeks of fetal development. The most common signs of the disorder are short neck, low hairline at the back of the head, and restricted mobility of the upper spine. Associated abnormalities may include scoliosis (curvature of the spine), spina bifida (a birth defect of the spine)

Martin,

My thanks to you for allowing me to use this and your photos - I look forward to meeting you real soon, if not next week when we are almost neighbours in the not too distant future as I can learn so much from you, given what you know I am hoping to do down here!

Wendy

Tandem Solutions One ..

Great Rides - Tandem Solutions Two ..

DISCLAIMER:  Whilst every reasonable care has been taken to ensure accuracy of information provided on both this page and website, we cannot be held responsible
for any errors in or omissions from the given text and nor for the content of external internet sites