by Tiff -

Extreme Water Adventures with a Spinal Cord Injury

Gentle swimming with a therapist this post is not. You can leave your floaties and zen music at home. We’re profiling all of the extreme water activities people with spinal cord injuries can do, and even we were impressed. From “barefoot” water skiing to jet skiing, the water can be our playground.

And even better – the world is slowly realizing we are not fragile things. With the right equipment, we can do nearly any water activity able bodied people can do, it just may take a  bit more time.

Here are three videos we’ve uncovered that exemplify this beautifully. Read this entry

by Tiff -

Dealing with the Dreaded SCI Anniversary

Anniversaries can be either super fabulous or super depressing, depending on what’s being commemorated. In the world of spinal cord injuries, it’s a 50/50 thing, but most look at their SCI anniversary as a sad thing they’d rather not remember.

“Yup, one more year in a wheelchair,” is the thought process, and then there are the others who wildly celebrate the anniversary of their injury, looking at it as they have an amazing survival ability. We all can be vastly different with our coping methods.

From a 40 year old Australian talking about what he misses most to a quadriplegic embracing dozens of adapted sports the first year of his injury, here are three people with spinal cord injuries showing how they manage their anniversaries. Read this entry

by Tiff -

Handcycling into the sunset

You got to love the handcycle. Bikes are no longer monopolized by bi-peds thanks to this awesome invention. As long as you have some arm movement, heck even if you don’t have any, you can use a handcycle.

Full-power, power-assist, traditional – handcycles work with any SCI level. Here are three videos showcasing the awesomeness of these bad boys, including one with built-in FES.

In our first video, watch a compilation of three different handcycles from Berkel Bike, a nouveau handcycle company from the Netherlands. They’ve gone and created a super unique handcycle that’s a fusion between a traditional handcycle and a tricycle.

Yup a tricycle, and it works quite well for people with spinal cord injuries. What I really love about this design is that your legs move passively as you pedal with your arms, enabling your legs to get in on the exercise-action too. And since it’s a trike, it sits a bit higher from the ground making transfers much, much easier. Read the rest of this entry

by Tiff -

Podcast #84 – Joe Stone and reclaiming the mountain

In episode #84 of No Free Rides, Tiffiny interviews Joe Stone, a C7 quad injured while speed flying in Montana (where you parachute down a mountain on foot). Tiffiny and Joe discuss the importance of staying true to your passions despite a life-changing injury, as well as his documentary, Wings to Wheels.

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