On Sunday, 20th April, I attempted for the first time a transition stage of the triathlon. I chose the transition from hand cycle to racing chair. I am allowed one assistant so I was ably assisted by my wife Lucy. Unfortunately the transition took 8 minutes and certainly placed a strain on matrimonial harmony! The main problem relates to placing my legs – which are long – into the right position in the racing wheelchair and then fastening them in correctly. This weekend is the training camp with British Triathlon so I am looking forward to picking up tips to shave a lot of time off the transition phase.
Archive for April, 2008
Transitions
Apr 22
Veg Patch
Apr 22
This weekend marked the completion of the construction of the raised bed for my first vegetable patch. I shall attach photos however the beauty of the bed is that it has been built much higher than the standard to enable me to have easier access to the soil for planting, sowing, digging etc. My father-in-law tackled the project of building the bed with vigour as one of his first tasks after retirement, however he underestimated the amount of top soil required and the resulting hard physical excercise filling the raised bed!
Scorton Ride
Apr 14
On Saturday I went on a 2 and 3/4 hour bike ride with my mate Kral around the Scorton area. This is on the western outer rim of the trough of Bowland with some spectacular scenery and challenging riding due to the undulating nature of the terrain.
Towards the end of the ride coming down a steep incline I failed to notice a ” cyclists dismount at this point” sign placed before a ford due to the speed I was travelling – needless to say I went flying into the river crossing the road, wrecked the front wheel of my hand cycle and my limbs went everywhere! Fortunately Kral was able to cycle back to the car, pick it up and get me and the remnants of my bike out of the water and into the car. Nevertheless it was a terrific ride and enormous fun.
Racing Chair
Apr 14
Yesterday I had my first proper go in my racing chair. I will attach some photos of the chair and me in it but the first thing I realised is how hard it is to get into! As I am 6 ft 3″ I have long legs and these have to be tucked directly under my body. I eventually got into the chair and pushed from my house to Southport Pier and back with my wife, lucy , joinging me on her bike. A completely different pushing technique is required to that in my everyday chair and I shall post the best technique when I know myself – I am hoping to get a better idea in 2 weeks after the Disabled athletes training camp with British Triathlon.
At present I am entered into the Great Manchester Run in mid May and I am sure I will complete it without difficultly however my time could be dreadful! I am competing in that race for ASPIRE – the Spinal Cord Injury Charity.
Anyway for my first real go in a racing chair yesterday could have been alot worse!