Tuesday, July 3, 2007
3 Wheeled Hand Cycle
A while ago, long-time Sacramento Pipeworks bike club member Kent “Touchstone Man” Gillis was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder that would ultimately prevent him from riding conventional 2 wheeled bicycles. Never one to give up easily, Kent began looking for alternatives to the 2 wheeled machines and soon purchased a custom-built 3 wheeled hand cycle. He knew it would take months of training to pack enough muscle onto his upper body to propel himself forward using only arm strength, but that thought just made him train harder. Eventually he decided it was time to try his hand at racing, with his first foray taking place recently at the Truckee Criterium. The hand bike race, a fairly flat .8-mile circuit around downtown, was the warm-up act to the pro criterium, so there were quite a few enthusiastic spectators lining the streets. Kent describes the race: “...gnarly crash right in front of me on the very first turn, two bikes got together and one guy splashed on the pavement....welcome to crit racing! I hit 21.5mph on the slight downhill back-stretch, followed by a hard right-hander executed on two wheels (NOT intentionally). The rest is a blur, but I think I did seven laps, came in 6th place and was lapped by the winner twice.” Kent got to do it all over again the next day in downtown Reno on a longer circuit that had a short arm-crushing climb. More spectators, more speed and more fun.
“Unfortunately, the downhill to the start/finish line was into an insane headwind, so what should have been a 35mph screamer was only 25mph” Kent remarked. “I was more relaxed this time, being a veteran racer and all, and enjoyed the experience more, but was toast by the end. This time around I finished 7th and was lapped once.”
Everyone in the Sacramento Pipeworks Bike Club looks forward to watching Kent flash by in his Touchstone jersey at the next hand bike criterium!
A while ago, long-time Sacramento Pipeworks bike club member Kent “Touchstone Man” Gillis was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder that would ultimately prevent him from riding conventional 2 wheeled bicycles. Never one to give up easily, Kent began looking for alternatives to the 2 wheeled machines and soon purchased a custom-built 3 wheeled hand cycle. He knew it would take months of training to pack enough muscle onto his upper body to propel himself forward using only arm strength, but that thought just made him train harder. Eventually he decided it was time to try his hand at racing, with his first foray taking place recently at the Truckee Criterium. The hand bike race, a fairly flat .8-mile circuit around downtown, was the warm-up act to the pro criterium, so there were quite a few enthusiastic spectators lining the streets. Kent describes the race: “...gnarly crash right in front of me on the very first turn, two bikes got together and one guy splashed on the pavement....welcome to crit racing! I hit 21.5mph on the slight downhill back-stretch, followed by a hard right-hander executed on two wheels (NOT intentionally). The rest is a blur, but I think I did seven laps, came in 6th place and was lapped by the winner twice.” Kent got to do it all over again the next day in downtown Reno on a longer circuit that had a short arm-crushing climb. More spectators, more speed and more fun. “Unfortunately, the downhill to the start/finish line was into an insane headwind, so what should have been a 35mph screamer was only 25mph” Kent remarked. “I was more relaxed this time, being a veteran racer and all, and enjoyed the experience more, but was toast by the end. This time around I finished 7th and was lapped once.”
Everyone in the Sacramento Pipeworks Bike Club looks forward to watching Kent flash by in his Touchstone jersey at the next hand bike criterium!
Labels: cycling, members, Sacramento Pipeworks, Touchstone Bike Club
¶ Tuesday, July 03, 2007
