A couple of years after my accident, I started thinking “wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a world where disabled people are defined by what they can do rather than by what they can’t?”. So, instead of being disabled, they are just as able to do things as anyone, but just in a different way.
For example, I cannot get from Aberdeen to London by bicycle, but I can make the journey in a different way – by trike, a heck of a lot more slowly, and with a couple of people accompanying me. Perhaps differently-abled would be a better term?
Unfortunately, a positive word doesn’t exist. The only alternative is “handicapped”. In some countries, people use this word quite freely without seeing many negative connotations in it. However, neither “disabled” nor “handicapped” could ever be described as particularly constructive, optimistic and upbeat words.
As a “differently-abled” cyclist, I have now reached Huntingdon. Since our rest day in Lincoln, we have journeyed through Grantham and Peterborough. We had planned to make Cambridge our next stop. However, some torrential downpours forced us to change our plans slightly and finish the latest leg in Huntingdon.
These legs have been characterized by large numbers of cyclists, from cycling clubs along the route, a bit like Olympic relay teams passing batons, handing us over to the next group as we progress further south.
The momentum from the early days of the campaign seems to have been maintained. Spontaneous donations are growing as media coverage continues. Meetings with local dignitaries helps. This morning the Mayor of Peterborough waved us off and the local press snapped away.
The profile of the campaign has been helped in recent days as two different blind cyclists rode with me. On the Lincoln to Grantham leg, Alan Tibble rode his tandem trike and today Graham Hicks rode his two wheel tandem out of Peterborough. The intention had always been to get locally well-known individuals to lend their support to the campaign. This seems to be working and generating interest from the media.
