I’ve always been passionate about sport, in particular the Olympics of course, even though I’ve never been there at a live event. Summer or winter Olympics, makes no difference to me. In my previous life I was more of a winter sports enthusiast. For evidence click here.

When I was still in the hospital after my accident in 2008 the Paralympics Games in Beijing were shown on big screen TV during my physiotherapy.

I was particularly impressed with the incredibly fast racing wheelchairs, because at that time I was just able to move about 50 yards in less than six minutes in the hospital hallways without my oxygen tent, or without qualified pushes

Last week I met with the Tunisian racing wheelchair guy Ahmed Aouadi, who participated in the Olympics in 2008 in Beijing and in 2012 in London. He currently trains as a “lone warrior” for Rio de Janeiro 2016 at a sports club close to my home.

Racing wheeler Ahmed Aouadi

Ahmed Aouadi with a racing wheelchair vs.

Rollinator (Wheelynator) with a e-handbike

Even with my motorized hand bike under full engine assistance I didn’t stand a chance against Ahmed. If you look closely, you can see that at about 20 km/h (12.5 mph) every now and then he’s waiting for me.

His INVACARE -Racing wheelchair weighs a mere 6 kilograms (13.4 lbs), which equals the weight of one of the two batteries on my bike. Nevertheless, that is no excuse!

My highest respect for such athletic performance!

I’m not giving up that easily! I might be slow in a wheelchair, but I know how to tune engines

Usually I look down at me, smile and say, I don’t see any bonds.

The other day I was with my wheeler mate David in the new skate park next to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt when we heard that question again.

We were both grinning because just in this moment he really “bonded“ himself to his wheelchair to turn a round…

Frankfurt East meets Frankfurt West

David “Dat Lebbe” Lebuser,

the future German ChairSkating legend

For all who missed the report “To the limit in a chair ” on German television

Here the direct link to the media library.

He is one of the pioneers in our country who are shredding with their chair through the half pipe and do some tricks in the skater park.

When he rolls to the edge of the halfpipe he has enough space most of the times because the skaters and bikers stand still and watch extremely interested if the guy with the chair really wants to get down there.

“ChairSkating”

is already popular in the USA for some time, and even kids have fun with it.

Just have a look into Youtube under WCMX, there are a lot of cool videos.

Some weeks ago, the German Wheelchair Sport Association has organized a workshop for “Chairskating” with young people and of course David.
You should be quite fit to try out this sport.

When you pursue this sport reasonably with appropriate protection equipment and special wheelchair, the risk for injuries is manageable.

A hand cycle is fairly inappropriate for the half pipe

I have decided to engage in the future instead of Chair skating into Extreme Wheelchair Origami.

Translator BL

38° C in the shade

Click on Tags “COOLING CAP”

Translator BL

I would like to mention at this point that most of us just aren’t able to walk or to walk anymore, and apart from that the neuronal networking is at least at the same level with the average population.

It is not necessary to reject anybody who isn`t able to walk anymore and send him into retirement. There are too little jobs for wheelers!!

On TV you sometimes see actors doing pleasure rides in a wheelchair. An affected person would never take a seat in such a crap chair. A real wheeler brings his own requisite.

At advertising shots for technical aids like wheelchairs, handcycles, wheelchair accessories and special clothing I demand a few jobs for us. Indeed due to the paralysis the belly gets a little bigger, but with Photoshop you can retouch this without any problems.

Recently a glossy promotional sheet for wheeler clothing fluttered into my mailbox.

That’s not bad though so you always keep up to date what is hip regarding clothing, colours and accessoires during the next wheelchair season.

The supposed „colleague“ has a top handcycle with motor support harnessed to his wheelchair. This is even a special type of handcycle for a quadriplegic like me, who barely can or are completely disabled to grasp. When driving the hands are fixed and you change gears with your chin.

At least the model, probably a pedestrian or a paraplegic who has never seen a handcycle before, should have had to be told how to grasp the handles.

Does that always have to attract my attention only?

There they are, our jobs…!!!

Hands in handles should look roughly like this, look at my picture:

I don’t look too bad for a model, do I? OK, the belly is cut off

Translator Teo

The island is a mecca for triathletes, people are training for the Ironman Hawaii there.
The fact that there are 2 bicycle lanes on the promenade might be a bit unusual for a holiday island, but is quite favourable for us wheelers. You could ride with your handcycle on the island until your arms fall off. In Puerto del Carmen you can borrow a recumbent handcycle which a former triathlete has provided who also moves around on 4 wheels now since a couple of years. Unfortunately only suitable for paraplegics

Lanzarote is mostly accessible. OK, the curbs are sometimes lowered quite creatively, and the ramps have “Spanish 6 degrees” gradient, but we don’t want to be too pedantic here!

With all the hard work in the manual mode of my wheelchair (as I had to leave my Minitrac at home) I also had to deal with sand drifts.

With all this you have deserved a “hop blossom ice tea” (= cold beer) in the evening
I have already seen a lot, but a

wheelchair bypass sign

to the next beer due to the steep ramp (in the background) into the Pub is somthing new.

Translator BL

(Biblis is an old nuclear plant in Germany)

The decision for nuclear phase out was taken, we all have to save energy.

Innovative ideas are wanted!!!

The Bavarian alp cows are setting a good example.

Ingeniously simple, a solar powered electric fence. Hopefully the originator has already patented it.

Thanks to a big soft drink company for the generous donation of a special casing and semiautomatic transport cart.

The company P. is seriously active in the area of solar power.

Translator BL

(sign points to an underpass)

Wheelchair crossing???

I reach such a high speed with cycling that my wife can walk next to me.

Oberstdorf im Allgäu (Bavaria).

I have been to many countries already and was able to communicate with the respective inhabitants in English or French quite well.

Apart from the language barrier, the weather has disturbed my whole training schedule.

My since months proven and tested training schedule with several rides in the rain per day was ruined totally by one week of everlasting sunshine. In London (Paralympics 2012) it rains the whole year, as everybody knows, so you have to be prepared.

My equipment had to be converted rapidly from high speed rain jacket to strongly braking cooling cap and vest.

Due to the beautiful sunsets every day the coaches got so melancholic that there was nothing to do with them any more. They were occupied with writing post cards and painting by numbers.

The signage of the race track must have been the result of

Fools at work.

signs in both directions meaning: all trails

Meanwhile I had completely lost my way, so that I ended up on the

Nebelhorn

middle sign meaning: panorama trail – wheelchair and stroller accessible

and finally on the

Way of St James

(in German: Jakobsweg)

OK, this was driven back quickly .

Back in Frankfurt at last.
Last night I was finally able to exercise reasonably again with 16°C and 20 litres of rain/m²!

Translator BL

London ist near!