riding bicycle vs walking

[mk99]

I would think it would be easier to ride a bicycle than to walk if you are incomplete enough to peddle. Once you moving, wouldn't balance be less of an issue?

Anyone here try riding a bicycle? Is it easier/harder than walking?

[Jeff]

He's incomplete and rides a bicycle.

~See you at the SCIWire-used-to-be-paralyzed Reunion http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/wavey.gif ~

[chastev8]

http://www.trailmate.com/bikes.asp

[dogger]

mike , i can ride a pushbike but it gets a bit exciting sometimes . i don't have good enough hands to use the brakes and stopping is fun , my legs aren't strong enough to co ordinate stopping and putting my feet down . also i had forgotten how uncomfortable a bike seat is .

''the gravel rashed bike rider''
dogger http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Mum]

My son, 20, incomplete T12, has just started riding an ordinary bicycle 14 months after his accident. He can balance well (many prior years of BMX-ing has probably helped in that regard) and has no trouble cycling or even putting his feet down to stop, it's the getting on & off that's difficult as he has minimal feeling in his left foot. He has designs to eventually cycle on the roads after lots of practice in the park first, and as his mum I am scared stiff of such a situation. He's an independent adult and I try hard to not interfere and to encourage him to have a go at things but this issue is a contentious one for us. He's a together sort of guy for the most part and I do trust him but .... etc etc.

Any comments on any of this would be appreciated.

Mum

Mum

Life is what happens to us while we're making other plans. - John Lennon

[dogger]

Mum , that is the easy part , lay the bike on the ground then step over the frame , up near the forks where it is narrowest and simply pick the bike up . getting off reverse the proceedure .getting disentangled from the infernal machine after i fall over while still mounted is a different story , one that normally includes language that would ''make a bullock driver blush ''! mum at least your son will be able to use the brakes when necessary , when i come to a bit of downhill road all i can do is ''screw down tight '' [isn't it unusual the way a bike on a slightly descending slope accelerates like a piano falling over a cliff ? ] and hope both my mount and i are both still travelling in close proximity at the bottom . http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

from the mostly out of control pushbike rider
dogger

[mk99]

I wonder if it would be much easier for an incomplete to ride a bicycle than to walk? I would think pedalling is easier to accomplish than ambulation. yes/no?

[SCI PILOT]

Mike

Once I got my quads and hams firing, I purchased a 3 wheel adult trike. I had my welder build me some foot plates and my wife built the straps. I was able to ride it for 30 min in about 10 days then after that the muscles built up quite quickly.

At the time of being able to peddle I was still unable to walk as the bike requires no weight bearing on the leg muscles just peddleing it. I truly believe it was the ability to ride the bike that allowed me to start to ambulate with AFO braces. It built up the leg muscles to a point where they could support my weight. ( a slight 200# 6'1" frame)

I can now ride the bike 10 miles in 45 minutes over all kinds of paved terrain (small hills). I can post a picture if you want to see it.

Next summer I hope to have enough strength that I can use a regular bike and be able to get me feet to the ground before it tips over during a stop. I hope to use peddle clips to hold my feet on the peddles.

I modified a recumbant stationary bike for in the house during the winter. I still am working out 8 times per week and the progress is really starting to show.

I used to crap my pants everytime I tried to stand due to the muscle strain now that the muscles are stronger they don't need to strain so much and I can stand with out having to check the back door for those great surpises.

Go forth and exercise as much as you can!

Jim

[Mum]

mkowalski: Knowing that he'd probably say yes, I asked my son today whether it was easier to pedal than to walk and he did say yeah, much easier. Sitting down he doesn't have to bear his own weight. He wouldn't be able to ride standing up at this stage.

Dogger: Ok, I'm now worrying about you as well as my son!! Thanks for the tip re getting on and off though - no-one in my family had thought of that one and we'll now give it a go.

sci pilot: I'll show my son your post .... he moved into his own flat a few months ago and has an exercise bike in the living room which he's become bored with, and yet he knows from his own experiences at the spinal unit that regular use of it can really help build muscle.

(I'm posting for him because the web isn't really his thing and he's always busy doing something else anyway).

You all put me to shame. I'm able bodied and perfectly capable of getting on a bike to exercise but I'm too fat & lazy to do it. A good knuckle-rapping for me, I think ....

Mum

Life is what happens to us while we're making other plans. - John Lennon

[Sue Pendleton]

Might I suggest adding a helmet made for bikers while you're all out there relearning to ride? I mean to get going again only to wind up with a brain injury from a cracked noggin', well, seems a tad unfair. Our county just passed a law that all bike riders under 18 must wear a cycling helmet.

Mum, back when I had a desk job and was putting a few double bacon cheeseburgers on the hips I put a stationary bike in the rec room with my stereo. Just start by riding as long as your favorite current song. Any exercise is better than none. Say a little something by John Lennon?? http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."

[dogger]

i live on a 20,000 acre property so i don't mix with the traffic when i mount my bicycle for the fray . http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif [ i am also handling the truth a bit carelessly ]

thanks for your concerns , and hope your son is soon pedalling off into the sunset [ safely of course ]
dogger

[Mum]

Sue: I THINK Jack will have enough sense to wear a helmet now, even in the park, as apart from the SCI he also had a very serious head injury at the time of his accident. He also had a BMX accident some years ago where his helmet took the force, cracked, and quite possibly saved his life. Re exercising myself, I have an electric treadmill, complete with tv/video, about 3ft away from where I'm sitting right now!! I just need to get back into the swing of using it - I did do regularly at one time and even lost 50lbs in weight but have lost my way somewhat since then. I feel a change a-comin' though ....

Dogger: 20,000 acres?! How wonderful. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif Ok, that's not as bad as roads, I can relax about you a little now.

Mum

Life is what happens to us while we're making other plans. - John Lennon

[bruce]

I have actually found it easier to walk than to bike. My issue is spasticity. I get a fair amount of clonus, especially in my right ankle. When I strap into the pedals and start cranking I often get the clonus going. That stops me because I just get the pedals and crank a-shakin', then I'm a-goin' nowhere fast. My tone used to be worse than it is now, and my legs would spasm when they straightened out too, which didn't help. It's just been recently that I've been able to spin a stationary bike at all. As I get stronger my spasticity seems to be getting better so there's hope.

I can walk functionally with a walker, and yesterday walked 400 feet with a cane and my wife doing a contact-guard assist with a gait belt. A big issue I've had with walking has been my trunk strength. I do as much exercise to strengthen my trunk as my legs, maybe more.

My injury is C6 ASIA D with Brown-Sequard syndrome. sci pilot, i'm curious as to what level your injury is. And I'd love to see a picture of your bike .. please post it if you can.

BTW, I too know everything about standing up and finding those "great surprises" at my back door. I'll just say I've done some doozys http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/confused.gif but it's been a while .. knock on wood.

- Bruce

[This message was edited by projectorguy on Dec 02, 2002 at 02:12 AM.]

[This message was edited by projectorguy on Dec 02, 2002 at 02:16 AM.]

[Camping Hoosiers]

I always loved to ride a bike. I had quit years ago due to my back pain. A few years ago I found a recumbent bicycle and fell in love with it. After my SCI I wanted to get back on a bike but I was scared that if I actually got it going I would be in trouble when I had to stop. I had very little control of legs and less of my feet. One of the first things they put me on in rehab was a recumbent stepper. Thats what got me thinking about a recumbent trike. It took some searching but I finally found a bent trike that had the same seat height and foot height that I had been used to in rehab.
http://www.easyracers.com/ez_3.htm This Easy Racers EZ-3 was just the ticket for me. I love it!

See ya, Jeff'

Memphis, Indiana USA

[betheny]

I'm scared to try riding a regular bike. I wish my mommy could run along behind me to hold me up like she did when I was 5. My bike's still in the garage, sometimes I wonder about training wheels. Someone gave me a trike, I like it, needs brake work tho. The wind in my hair feels so GOOD (better put a helmet on, huh?) I have this mental image of dogger like Artie Johnson on Laugh-In, he used to always fall off his trike.
mk99-so far pedaling is harder than stepping for me. But I've put in 3 yrs. of obsessing about stepping!


You'd better get a big gun 'cause I'm not dead yet."
---The Bad Examples

[SueB]

Camping Hoosiers, I just got the EZ-3 Trike a few weeks ago. I love it! Its a 21-speed, which I really need because I live on a hill. I also really like the seat, I can't believe how comfortable it is. I've only been able to ride it 5 times so far, but I can almost make it to the top of that hill - next time...

This recumbent is definitely different than my stationary bike. I use different muscles, which has to be a good thing. I figure the farther I can ride my trike, the better I'll be able to walk! At least that's my theory.

Here's another link: Sun Bicycles (http://www.sunbicycles.com/recumbents.htm)

[metronycguy]

there are a lot of nice recumbent trikes being made now, the ez trike that sue mentions is one. and there are quite a few other companies that make them, they tend to be quite expensive,
but if you have the money, there are some nice products, i saw quite a few tandem ones at bikeny last week ,