'I've learnt to ride with one arm'

Meet the man who is back on two wheels after a motorbike accident

WHEN a motorbike accident left Andy Jackson with a paralysed right arm more than ten years ago, he thought the sensation of riding on two wheels would be lost for ever.
But thanks to an overwhelming sense of determination and a little help from a bike technician, he's discovered the thrills and spills of a whole new sport: mountain biking.

'You'll just have to help get that zip undone,' quipped a muddy-faced mountain biker as he sat down for a well-earned cup of tea at Rivington barn. 'I can get if off but I hate zips.'
It's a throw away remark from a man who is used to the little querks and quarms of life with one arm. But from an outsider's point of view, it is a startling reminder of what exactly this sporty-looking chap is taking on.
Andy Jackson, 47, from Wigston in Leicestershire, has just been exposed to his first day riding 'proper' mountain bike trails.
The down-hill kind. Complete with rocks, ruts and streams.
And he's now more determined than ever that mountain biking is the future - a way of regaining his love of the outdoors and all things two wheeled.

Wheel inspiration

'My life has changed beyond all recognition since the accident. I've become a nicer person.
I care more about other people and less about myself but I am also more stubborn and I won't let things stop me.
'I set myself challenges all the time, things that would probably have been easy before.'
And it is this determination that has helped Andy move forward with his life. He even had to learn to write with his left hand, something he dismisses as a minor hiccup: 'The brain just re-maps.' he nonchalanty remarks.

'I don't know what it is, whether it's the adrenaline or the sense of balance you need or what but it was definitely what was missing in my life. I've just enjoyed the whole thing so much since then'

Motorbike enthusiast Andy was left paralysed in the right arm after a head-on collision between his BMWR1000 and a car in 1997 in Hertfordshire.
He managed for four years with it 'getting in the way' before making the life-changing decision in 2001 to have his arm amputated from the shoulder, an operation that was carried out at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Middlesex.
After 17 years of enjoying life on two wheels, ever being abled to ride again seemed a distant impossibility.
'I loved the whole bike scene so I got a trike at first. My wife didn't really want me getting back on a motorbike. Then I got another trike and loved it even more but there was something missing.
Then I got a mountain bike and realised what it was: being on two wheels.
I don't know what it is, whether it's the adrenaline or the sense of balance you need or what but it was definitely what was missing in my life. I've just enjoyed the whole thing so much since then.'
His first bike was a basic cheap and cheerful hard tail from a retail catalogue. It wasn't until he picked up a Kona Lanai for Christmas in 2006 that proper work began on how it could answer the challenges of more challenging terran - away from canal tracks and flat bridleways.

Modification

Adapting a mountain bike has understandably been key.
So far Andy has worked with a bike technician at Rutland Water Cycling to come up with an original design.
The bike is a hard tail with 80mm travel on the front forks, with flat pedals. The rear mechanism works on the left handside with a push pull system; the front mec is a twist grip and then the breaks are operated by levers: the back break at the top and the front break at the bottom.
'Other than that, it is pretty standard. I can break with either front and back at the same time or one or the other. Sometimes I click out of the back gears when I don't meant to but that's no big deal. If you want to stop in a hurry, you just squeeze them both really hard!'

He uses a sprung seat post and has reconnected the breaks and gear shifters.
'I told the technician what I needed and he told me what he thought was available. He had a go with it and I tested it - and he managed to do the job first time! I've seen some of the stuff that is available for motorbikers in this situation and looked at what could be adapted.
'I've been looking at a dampner style system modelled on the ones they use on motorbikes but haven't come up with anything yet. In my mind I am also already coming up with a way to move the seat from a negative to a positive position, maybe on a shifter some how, incorporating a mud guard.
'The bike let me down a bit by the end as it was jumping through the gears, but it's a beginner's bike. If anyone's got a full sus out there they don't need let me know!'

Following the lead

Many of the ideas that Andy is testing out have come about from information being batted around on sites such as the National Association for Bikers with a Disability. He has also, since then, discovered the MTB amputee society.
'Most of what they are doing is quite serious competitions and down hill and stuff like that so at least I knew it was possible. Some of them are completely mad - what they do with or without prosthetic limbs - it's incredible.'

'Trying to ride down hill is tricky. I can't stand up and back to achieve a negative position like most riders as it just knocks the balance off and is not effective.'

There's also plenty of work to be done on finding the right technique.
So far, Andy has limited his riding to the flatter terrain around where he lives - especially to build up his fitness. But, realising he wanted more from his riding, signed up for a beginner's course with Mountain Bike Skills in Rivington, near Manchester, in the north of England.
Tackling steeper down  hill is the greatest challenge in terms of skill levels.
Most riders use the horizontal pedal position on down hills for stability - but this is near impossible with one hand on the handlebars, even when a rider managers to grip the seat successfully with their inner thighs.
'Trying to ride down hill is tricky. I can't stand up and back to achieve a negative position like most riders as it just knocks the balance off and is not effective. I did one of the smalled drop offs which I was chuffed with but I wish I could have managed to learn a bunny hop with both wheels. That's definitely next.
'The rocky path down from the pigeon tower was the hardest [in Wilder's wood] as it was all rutted and partly full of water. Compared to what I have been riding before that was easily the trickiest part. But Mark was fantastic - I have learnt so much.'
Mark Warren, the instructor leading the course, was clearly chuffed to bits with the day. 'It was amazing. Really. So impressive to see what is possible with the right attitude. Andy was really up for it and his attitude was, 'I have already lost one arm so what does it matter if I lose another!' I was really surprised by how much control he had.'
Mountain bike skills lead instructor Mike Stafford added: 'Sometimes I try to use one hand to help improve my skills but I have always found it works your legs that much harder. I am in awe of how Andy has got on. If you imagine how hard it is to ride one handed when you are trying to fasten your jacket or fiddle with something; most people can't manage it for more than a few yards.'

a fall for good measure

So, did Andy, now also a keen scuba diver and welder, manage the course without any bumps and bruises? Not quite. A scratched nose and a sticking plaster on his chin gives it away. 'This is the worst fall I have had on my mountain bike but, hey, if you don't push yourself, you'd never learn anything!'
And there are plenty more challenges ahead. In an official capacity, Andy is national secretary for the TBPI - the Trauma Brachial Plexus Injury group, and works as a fire safety officer for the NHS. Away from his day job, though, he is determined to tackle some of the routes in the peaks next after a bit more practise.
'The hardest thing to do one handed is change a light bulb in a pendant lamp - but I have found a way round that as well.'