Welcome to Velo Vision Issue Three , September 2001
FILL THE GAP
Able-bodied editors of cycling magazines like me find the subject of cycling for the disabled a hard one to judge. How can we know when we�re being patronising, making assumptions, or just getting the tone wrong? How many readers are interested in a subject which may directly affect only a small number of them?
For these reasons perhaps, and certainly because cycling for the disabled isn�t perceived as a topic that �sells� mainstream magazines, it rarely gets any coverage in the cycling press. Yet most cyclists will have wondered, perhaps fleetingly, about how their lives might change were they to lose the ability to ride a bike. Would I lose independent mobility, fitness, the wind in my hair? Or could I still, somehow, cycle?
The internet can be a wonderful source of information for those who can access it. Yet I�ve been told by a number of readers who are disabled, or who work with disabled cyclists, that there is still a huge �information gap�. This is despite the splendid efforts of companies active in the field, who can modify standard or specialised machines to accommodate a huge spectrum of disabilities. Yet many who might like to get into cycling don�t, simply because no-one is telling them what�s possible. The article about Morocco�s long-distance disabled cyclists is a wonderful one-off, but I do hope that cycling for the disabled is a topic which will continue to figure in the magazine. I�d be delighted to work with any reader who might like to contribute an article on this or, of course, on any other cycling subject.
PETER ELAND
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Issue Three contents
Some of the articles from are now available for you to download as PDF - if you don't already have the required (free) Acrobat Reader software for these you can get it here. Some of the colours look a bit vivid on some of these PDFs - it's better in print!
- 3 Contents and Editor's letter (PDF, 168k)
- 4 News
Jason Queally's HPV, reports from Spokesfest, Brighton and more - 10 The pedal paramedic
York's 'Lifecycler' gives a vivid account of his work - 14 Old Rusty
A quirky tale of a brief bicycling affair - 16 Positech: the brake that got away
The frustration of introducing new technology to the bike trade. - 18 Diary of a season
The highs and lows of a season racing pedalcars - 24 Artists of adversity (PDF, 261k)
Claude Marthaler reports from Morocco on two disabled long-distance cyclists - 28 Family transport
The BikeE tandem: an owner reports - 32 The Sherpa story (PDF, 120k)
The perfect commuter? - 33 Double take (PDF, 120k)
You've never seen a tandem like this before - 34 The TOBike on tour
The smallest 20"-wheeled folder in the world? Be amazed... - 37 Letters
- 40 Books
A coffee-table collection, from couriers to cycling stamps - 42 Cycle Vision
An extended report from the Dutch recumbent gathering - 47 Advertising
Please support these companies, who support this magazine:- Jason Patient Photography: [email protected]
- Westcountry Recumbents: www.wrhpv.com
- Momentum: www.momentummagazine.com
- Orbit Cycles: www.orbit-cycles.co.uk
- Specialbikes Ltd: www.specialbikes.co.uk
- Advanced Vehicle Design: www.windcheetah.co.uk
- Bikefix: www.bikefix.co.uk
- London Recumbents: www.londonrecumbents.co.uk
- Calhoun Cycle: www.calhouncycle.com
- Bentrider Online: www.bentrideronline.com
- Schlumpf Innovations: www.speed-drive.com
- Wallingford Bicycle Parts: www.wallbike.com
- Greenspeed: www.greenspeed.com.au
- Futurebike: www.futurebike.ch
- D-Tek HPVs: [email protected]