Cycling for the less able-bodied

Cycling for the less able-bodied

By David Hanney

Cycling for the Less Able Bodied shows that two wheels can empower. Here, adaptive bikes unlock freedom for people of all abilities to explore with joy.

We can’t quite put our fingers on what it is about cycling that’s so exhilarating, but little compares to that tremendous feeling of pedal powered liberty. Gill, Frank and Beatrice understood this feeling.

Self-acclaimed ‘fanatical cyclists’, they believed that everyone should be able to experience the joy of spinning along a country lane in the wind and the sun, so they decided to create Wheel Potential. When they told the Alpkit Foundation their story, we couldn’t resist lending our support by purchasing an adult tandem trike. From the first trike, it's absolutely incredible to see thischarity develop and now boasts a fleet of twenty different cycles which have been used over 500 times in 2019 alone.

Wheel Potential is a community interest company providing open-air cycling experiences for less able-bodied adults. Run on an entirely voluntary basis by Beatrice, Frank, Mark and bike guru Peter, it was launched to address the lack of such initiatives in the Canterbury area. “We realised that although we can indulge in this passion freely, those who are less able-bodied cannot. We are slowly building up a collection of adapted cycling machines which can be used by anyone, whatever their disability.” Frank explains.

It was decided to dedicate this story to Gill Corble, whose passion helped get this project going and unlocking so much joy for so many.

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