Wheelchair offroading
December 16, 2004 1:58 PM Subscribe
Wheelchair Junkie, for all your wheelchair offroading (and ramp-jumping and wheelie-popping) needs.
[This is good]
Man, and here I was thinkin' I was all hardcore for mountain biking, riding in LA traffic and occasionally skateboarding.
Those guys are nuts. Those chairs are heavy, expensive and improbably powerful. And a pain in the ass to push if the batteries die.
Considering that the chair plus rider probably weigh at the least more than 300-500 pounds, that's a lot of air in some of those ramp jumping pics.
posted by loquacious at 3:21 PM on December 16, 2004
Man, and here I was thinkin' I was all hardcore for mountain biking, riding in LA traffic and occasionally skateboarding.
Those guys are nuts. Those chairs are heavy, expensive and improbably powerful. And a pain in the ass to push if the batteries die.
Considering that the chair plus rider probably weigh at the least more than 300-500 pounds, that's a lot of air in some of those ramp jumping pics.
posted by loquacious at 3:21 PM on December 16, 2004
I am a power chair user and we brag about their power etc. to each other just like kids with new bikes (I am 55). Mine had enough power to rip our bedroom door right off it's hinges without even a pause :-). Goes 8 mph for 25 miles, tilts, reclines..... Ooops there I go,, sorry.. Thanks very much for the web site.
posted by Ranger03 at 4:21 PM on December 16, 2004
posted by Ranger03 at 4:21 PM on December 16, 2004
I had a friend a while back that had some hopped up powerchair of death. All black metal, big vinyl cutout of "Thug Life" across the backplate. (Hey, it was the ghetto. He'd just as easily laugh with you, but probably after kicking your ass. No, he wasn't in a chair from a gang related injury, I think he had MS or something.)
Anyways, we were hanging out at this coffeehouse, and he'd brought his new dog down. We're sitting around drinking cheap beer from our coffee cups with a few other people when his dog gets excited about something or other, giving chase. The loop of his leash caught the control stick of the chair, sending my friend right through the metal patio table we were gathered around.
That chair destroyed the table, tearing it to pieces and flattening it, sending people and cups flying. And then he plowed into me. I caught the full force of the chair when the footplates collided with my shins. I still have small but visible scars there.
I didn't have much choice about being hit, but since I got hit I figured I could try to wrestle the chair anyway. I couldn't. It was like trying to wrestle with a small truck. The only thing that kept my legs from being broken was that the loop of the dog's leash finally broke free of the control stick.
I still remember my friend cursing helplessly and apologizing during the whole thing while it was happening. "Oh, shit! Crap! Sorry! Excuse me, coming through!"
The regulars at that coffeehouse (mainly those of us that were drinking beer that night, including the owner) laughed about that for a days, leaving the wreckage of the table in the courtyard for a while as a small monument to the carnage.
posted by loquacious at 5:55 PM on December 16, 2004
Anyways, we were hanging out at this coffeehouse, and he'd brought his new dog down. We're sitting around drinking cheap beer from our coffee cups with a few other people when his dog gets excited about something or other, giving chase. The loop of his leash caught the control stick of the chair, sending my friend right through the metal patio table we were gathered around.
That chair destroyed the table, tearing it to pieces and flattening it, sending people and cups flying. And then he plowed into me. I caught the full force of the chair when the footplates collided with my shins. I still have small but visible scars there.
I didn't have much choice about being hit, but since I got hit I figured I could try to wrestle the chair anyway. I couldn't. It was like trying to wrestle with a small truck. The only thing that kept my legs from being broken was that the loop of the dog's leash finally broke free of the control stick.
I still remember my friend cursing helplessly and apologizing during the whole thing while it was happening. "Oh, shit! Crap! Sorry! Excuse me, coming through!"
The regulars at that coffeehouse (mainly those of us that were drinking beer that night, including the owner) laughed about that for a days, leaving the wreckage of the table in the courtyard for a while as a small monument to the carnage.
posted by loquacious at 5:55 PM on December 16, 2004
how fun that stuff is--thanks!
and loquacious--great story! you really could have ended up in a chair yourself.
posted by amberglow at 6:02 PM on December 16, 2004
and loquacious--great story! you really could have ended up in a chair yourself.
posted by amberglow at 6:02 PM on December 16, 2004
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But is nowhere near as funny as "I'm a fan of going down steep dirt hills as fast as you can, namely because when you crash, you're most likely to get knocked unconscious. Rather than feeling pain, you then get to watch red-nosed circus clowns dance to Johnny Cash in your head - it's a lot like a free day out the movies." from here.
Thanks for the great post!
posted by fenriq at 2:29 PM on December 16, 2004