Back in 1996 for the Atlanta Para-lympics and the Expo, there was a manufacturer of a wheelchair accessible side car with ramp and driving controls switch from the cycle to the side car. The cycle was impressive and received a lot of attention by those who attended. Best Wishes In a message dated 1/13/2010 2:27:59 P.M. Central Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Greg, We were discussing this at work the other day. The show, and the Reeve Foundation, marketed it as the first chopper built for a quad. First of all, I'm sure it's not the first chopper ever adapted for a wheelchair user, but secondly, it's not really set up for a quad to use. Maybe it's just me, but when somebody says 'quad' I think of a person, like myself, with significant loss of function in all four limbs, not a para who can't fully move one pinky. That chopper looked like it required full hand-function to operate. This is the same issue I have with "quad" rugby, aka "murderball:" most of the best players are really paras who have found ways to be classified as quads. Not taking anything away from them--that's the way it is, and it's an exciting sport--but, to call some of those guys quads is a real stretch. The sport was invented to give true quads a competetive outlet, but today if you look at the really good teams you'll see that the true quads are used mainly as 'blockers' on defense. Again, I don't have a problem with the sport, it just irks me a bit that it's not really quad rugby. Getting back to the chopper, you can see it here [if the link still works]: _http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid57936435001?bclid=0&bctid=5 5589638001_ (http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid57936435001?bclid=0&bctid=55589638001) I agree--it's now a thing of great beauty. Hopefully this is just a start, and somewhere down the road we'll see some really cool designs. Happy riding!! Don. ____________________________________ From: Greg <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wed, January 13, 2010 1:02:52 PM Subject: [QUAD-L] American Chopper Did you guys see last weeks American Chopper show? They did a motorcycle / trike for the Chris / Dana Reeve Foundation. The back folded down and you roll your chair up in. The guy there looked like a quad, but the chair was made for a para to drive. It was the ugliest thing they ever made. Just like the big wheelchair companies they put no effort into looks. It was just metal tubing with fenders and a gas tank. It look like kids did it. I really thought they would do something cool looking, but ever since Paul Jr. left they haven’t really made anything very custom looking. Greg
