Hi all,
I know a few of you wanted to know how J got on with his riding after the arm bit the dust. Well, he's doing pretty well.
8 months on and still all clear. He's back at work part time and bitching because it is playing havoc with his social life.
We rode Newborough Forest at Christmas - very scenic but, to use his words, 'a bit flat'...
Then a bit of a break while his ribs recovered (he went 'exploring' derelict pubss and got stuck half-in/half-out on a wide windowsill...)and now he's back on the bike.
If any of you know Stannington in Sheffield, you *might* know Catty lane - it's pretty steep and gravelly at the top so quite a good candidate for airtime. I was quite apprehensive about him trying but it's not up to me - anyway, he cruised it...
He hasn't fallen off recently, which is great.
No sign of a prosthetic arm yet but the prosthetist has made him a great piece of 'ribcage armour' that has yet to be tested in anger. (where was it when he was dangling out of a first floor window though?)
I am going to try to post some photos below, it may not work...
Redmires to Stanage in the remains of the snow
This is our local ride out from home. Not very exciting, but good practise
(Can't work out how to get the photos to post in-line, if anyone can help?)
Who needs a second arm when you've got balls! Good luck to him, think the fact he is back on a bike is class.
Where's the 2nd pic took? Amd where's Catty Lane?
I live in Hillsborough and am always interested in new places to play
Oh and good work for getting back out on the bike. I never think I'd have the spirit to get on with my life if I lost an arm
As Stouffer would say, respect due...
nice one!
does he use SPD's or flats?
Pieface, I think you'd be surprised what you can do when faced with it. Seriously. You have 2 choices - you sit and mope, or you get on with it. You're allowed to do the first for a bit, but then hopefully you move on to the second option.
I emailed the surgeon the other day to fill him in on the past 8 months and he summed it up pretty well - he said "somehow I didn't think Julian would be the kind of person to sit back and take it"
The second photo is taken on the bit of 'unnamed road' the carries on opposite Beeton Green - where that, Rod Side and Long lane meet is actualy a cross road junction. Go down that missing bitt, then turn left back along to Flash Lane and the on to Riggs High Road, head toward Stannington a bit and then drop down onto Catty Lane (the left turn between the first and second 'Riggs High Road' labels) and back out onto Stannigton Road.
It's not exactly exciting but it's a quick fix.
V8 flats, MrNutt.
Amazing, thanks for the update!
There was a guy at the Puffer this year had one arm and one leg - he did a good few laps too - on a cx bike.
f*** me!
Well done that man 🙂
Is it here?
And is this Catty Lane?
You have 2 choices - you sit and mope, or you get on with it.
You've hit the nail on the head there.
Chapeau Julian!
I feel respect is due, a LOT of it!
Well done fella and thanks for the update!
😀
PieFace - the second one is Catty Lane, yes. My PC is going so slow so I haven't opened the first link, but it's the track that runs down to Ronksley Hall Farm, and in fact that is where you'd turn left, at the farm.
Like I said earlier, the usual 'not very exciting' disclaimers apply...
And watch out for pedestrians and dogs on Catty Lane.
brilliant stuff!!!
Good stuff. Maybe now I'll stop whinging about my broken wrist and get on with life!
See, we told you he could do it.
Nice to see him giving it though. Total 100% respect.
Not letting the bastards grind him down!
Can I ask a couple of set-up questions - I was wondering all evening!
Does he single-speed or run a 1x9 set-up maybe? and what about brakes - both brakes feed into the same lever?
eckinspain - the bike is a GT Avalanche 2.0 - the only 'extra' is a Hopey steering damper.
He currently has 3x7 gears with both changers on the right bar. He also has both brake levers stacked on the right bar so he can squeeze both at once, but because they are stacked the back is activated slightly before the front. This was a big help in stopping him going over the bars, as you can imagine.
It's a bit crowded on the right bar but I think he's actually thinking of sticking as it is for the time being.
iseeadarkness - I know, I know and you have no idea how much that helped us both! To be honest, I think my original thread was almost reassurance for me, as well as for him. 🙂
It's great to hear that he is back on a bike. It's amazing to see and hear about people who have lost limbs and are getting back into sports. There is a guy in NZ that I met called Dave Maitland who has done the coast to coast at least 15 times and has had some really good times he lost a leg in a motorbike accident. It so put's my fitness and mind to shame!
thanks very much for the update 🙂
He also has both brake levers stacked on the right bar so he can squeeze both at once,
you know with hydro brakes you can link two or even more calipers together and run them off of 1 lever. you basicly you run a hose from the bleed nipple on a caliper to the other caliper but still have the bleed nipple on it. can mail you more details if you want!! mail in profile.
i used to ride with a guy with 2 arms but he could only use 1 of them (the other had to be velcroed on to his bars) he showed me the set up and i also had to Bleed them.
[b]amazing[/b]!!
i have been without the use of a hand recently due to cutting through tendons on my thumb, i wouldnt even attempt riding on the road let alone off road, so much respect.
but its strange/great how the mind and body adapts!
would love to see a setup of his bar controls,
just a thought maybe to make it less crowded
he could use a normal shifterpod and a grip shifter,
this means he will have instant access to both shifters
I thought I had a photo, colande, but I don't. Will take one when I get home and post it at some point.
A friend had a spare grip shifter setup they were going to fit to see how he got on, but it didn't fit. It's something he has in mind but isn't in any great rush for, which is cool.
I think if you are injured and recovering there's pain there and I do think it's not always wise to resume riding while there is pain, but with J there's no limb so I think it's a bit different.
(Althought there is the phantom limb and associated pain, which is utterly bizarre...)
Thanks for the update, TN. I recall quite distinctly your original thread on the old site.
Chapeau, indeed.
TN: The power of positive thinking...
😉
There's a guy with one arm who's done the Ruta De La Conquistadores for last 8 years!!!
Thanks for the update TN & good luck to J for his riding. He really is an inspiration to others & in particular those who are able bodied but can't be @rsed to ride their bikes.
Please keep posting J's latest triumphs & challenges on his bike 🙂
Some extra pics, esp for Hetty:
More Redmires - Stanage:
Putting his trust in strangers (SUCKER!) and getting that sinking feeling. 😉
And this is not a biking photo but I think you might like it...
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1395706&l=96510110af&id=527320465
(PS: He got an email this morning, via someone on here, from a guy with brachial-plexus injury. Thanks for passing the pics to your friend. I do hope it inspires him to get back on his bike too! J found the story about how the email came about quite funny...)
Met a guy @ Mabie last week with only 1arm/1 leg. Had a serious piece of engineering for an arm, all alloy and steel. He was up for a weeks Stanes riding. He lives in Brathwaite, nr Keswick and has Whinlatter as his local.
"(Althought there is the phantom limb and associated pain, which is utterly bizarre...)"....yeah, my mum was complaing about her sore toes yesterday..lost them 4yrs ago!!!!
Trekster: J has been looking at trying to get some kind of 'biking arm' but whilst there are things available, it's fixing it to his body that's causing the problem.
Some of the prosthetics you can get are amazing though, aren't they?
Re: Phantom limb pain. J has actually found that it hurts less after he's been out on the bike - not sure if it's adrenalin or some other 'happy hormone' that does it, but it is another great excuse to go riding, eh?
Colande, here's a pic of the right bar set up.
Looks a bit crowded but I have mentioned various of your suggestions and he reckons he's quite happy with it like this, so there you go...
I had wondered, like Colande, about the possibility of one grip-shift and a normal shifter, but if the current set-up is fine then stick with it (doesn't look as cramped in the photo as I thougt it might).
Can I ask what a steering damper is? Does it just do what it sounds like it does?!! how?
thanks for the updates
Serious respect and congratulations for getting back on the horse.[bows]
TN/J, didnt see your original post just this "update", its quite amazing to see those pic's & hear the tales!
Good luck to both of you
I know you can get a thumb opperated system for rear brakes on motorbikes- may be worth looking into?
cool thanks for the pic,
very interesting, the shifters look hectic to me,
but if it works for him, it must just become second nature,
i like the look of the dual brake levers
eckinspain - the steering damper really is just what it says. If you google hopey steering damper you will get a far better description there than I can give you (remember I said I was completely mechanically inept!!)
He has actually broken it and it's held on with cable ties at the mo, so in fact he IS riding with no damping at all...
colande - I agree, it looks completely hectic to me too. I think the gripshift sounds like a fine idea but he's happy so I leave him to it. The brake levers stacked like that work really well - a lucky fluke, I reckon. 🙂
He went out again yesterday morning (he still isn't back to work full time yet) and did almost twice the mileage he had done so far, so he was slightly smug when he rang me from the top of a hill (downhill all the way home!), in the sunshine. Grrrr. 😉
He is now looking at a semi-auto clutch for one of his motorbikes. I think his recent riding success has given him the confidence that this might work too - I think until just recently he still thought the motorbikes would definitely have to go. I am a little apprehensive about this but again, it isn't up to me.
Huge respect to the man. I banged my hand last night riding in Kielder and felt useless trying to ease back to the car on fire-roads.
Shifter suggestion: I know its expensive but a Rohloff hub has a single gripshift to cover all 14 gears (which covers the full range of a normal 3x9 setup). I think someone has made a prototype rapidfire shifter too.
ir_bandito - Thanks for that. We looked at the Rohloff early on, following my original thread. The main problem with that is the price. If he had a fancier bike it might be a consideration but the bike only cost us about £350.
Hope your hand is feeling a bit less sore this morning.
Fair play that is awesome...........great to see someone just getting on with it. Please, do keep us all updated throughtout the year I'm sure it'll get many a fair weather rider out on the bike!!!
Hi folks.
Next update.
It's not that exciting but he's buying a full susser - a Felt Virtue 3 -(subject to it fitting him) on Friday. I think I *may* have just about convinced him he ought to buy a full face helmet too.
He is planning a trip round Strines Moor for the inaugural ride. 🙂
Oh yeah, and we got married on Friday!
T
8)
Oh yeah, and we got married on Friday
Congratulations.
Heres to more happy times on the bike.
