The above picture is a photo of my new chair. My mother was the one who first told me that she thought that this type of chair would be ideal for our walk down the Camino de Santiago next year. On my mother’s trip this summer she was even able to take one for a test drive. Because each on is built for the rider, we waited 6 weeks for it.
I was busy in my room when my brother told me that my mother just got two big boxes dropped off. It took a minute to register in my brain that those boxes contained my new Grit Freedom Chair. Within a short time, my brother and I had together.
Putting it together, I realized that this meant “game on” for the Camino de Santiago next year. I also could now start to train and build up my distance because the part of the Camino we intent to do is 100 kilometers and it is mostly trails we will be following and should take 5 days to walk. While it will be a physical challenge, it is also a spiritual trek and to do it with some of my family adds something special to it.
As I slowly pushed the Grit Chair out the front door, I started studying about how I was going attempt this. After rolling around my front yard and learning to turn and to stop, I decided to take the chair down the street a few yards and see how it did on the street surface. It did AMAZING! I on the other hand was soon to learn that one of the issues I had was one of how was I going to keep my feet in place. A common issue for many with cerebral palsy and often we have issues with spasticity and involuntary movements of different muscle groups. One way to stop those involuntary movements is to use straps and or other items to “lock down” your feet. We thought of something we did when I wanted to right a bike and that was to locked my feet down with a pair of attached shoes on the foot rest. Problem fixed, I started by riding near my home and a few days ago we attempted to walk/roll our way through a place called Sweetwater making just over a mile.
I was quick to learn riding outdoors means you will encounter fixing flat tires; I have in fact had three now. If all goes well, I hope to in a few weeks try a ten-mile walk/roll. It will be a challenge but it will tell me a lot about what I need to focus on.
We are under way!!
Peace,
Francis
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Thoughts? E-mail: francisearly@francisearly.com
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