ICE Blog

Competing in the London 2012 Paralympics began with what seemed like a mad idea, inspired by watching handbiking, included for the first time ever, in the Beijing Paralympics. Ideas are like seeds - sometimes they plant themselves in you, and slowly wither away, but other times they take root.

Despite almost hoping the Paralympic seed would die, it took hold; the idea of the challenge, of being part of such a great event in my own country, was too much to let go of. On the positive side I had a good level of fitness, I rode my bike every day, and knew I’d be motivated to train. On the negative side though, I’d only ever done two bike races and come last by a long way, and I just couldn’t see myself as an ‘athlete’. I saw myself as too old and too slow; a day-tripping, picnicking sort of cyclist, not someone with racing prowess.

It’s been a journey of highs and lows, of losing races and confidence, but also of seeing my times and results improve. There have been nights when I’ve been so tired I couldn’t sleep, my body buzzing with the effort and the adaptation, not a joule of energy left. However, hard work, commitment and perseverance pay off! In November 2010 I was selected for the British Paracycling ‘Academy’, and have been training my little (getting bigger!) arms off since. To compete in London, we had to medal at World Championship level - the ‘big race’ was in Denmark, September 2011. No pressure! If I didn’t medal, my London 2012 dream would be over. 

Two bronze medals later, I’m proud to be training now harder than ever. My coach John Hampshire (www.fit-for-purpose.co.uk) keeps me right - I’m happy to train hard, but appreciate his skills in writing my coaching programmes and analysing my performance data, and suggesting the best way forward to improve performance.

Now living between the north of Scotland and Sheffield, there is no shortage of hills to ride, but fast, flat speed endurance is a weaker area. John suggested he ride a recumbent trike, to pace my on my rides - just push me that bit harder - on the flats and the hills. We borrowed a TRICE for John to ride on a training run, and I realised this was a key to success. Having John on a trike to pace me would bring me on another level and help me bridge the gap to jump from bronze to gold.

‘Going for Gold’ is my ambition, in fact double gold, in the Time Trial and the Road Race. Its a hugely challenging target, as in London some of the women’s categories will be combined, so I’ll also be racing against people with a ‘lesser’ disability than my own. Its going to be a tough year, but I can’t wait for the start of September 2012, to the big race days at Brands Hatch. I’ve got such a fantastic coach and support team, and know that I’ll be giving it my everything for those Gold medals. 

Thank you to ICE for loaning my coach John a Voretex trike, to help pace me with...although I don’t feel quite as thankful after a killer ride at his pace!

Karen Darke www.karendarke.com

Recumbent Cycle Con 2011

Last week saw the inaugural Recumbent Cycle Convention in Pomona, California. The event was a great success, finishing the 2011 season of trade shows and exhibitions on a high.

Neil and Hero took their turn on the expo circuit with three beautiful trikes from the 2012 range: the Adventure HD, Sprint X-type and new Vortex. As with all the other 2011 shows feedback on the new range was excellent.

The big draw to our stand was the new Vortex our ultimate high performance, long distance trike with race specification components, new carbon seat, and sub 30lbs weight. There was nothing else quite like it at the show, so everyone was really keen to come and have a look.

The Adventure HD was another hit. The HD (Heavy Duty) is an upgrade option of our fully featured Adventure trike, with a sturdier frame, wider seat and increased cockpit space. Visitors could see the advantage of the Adventure HD straight away as it provides a luxuriously smooth and comfortable ride for the larger rider.

Visitors took the opportunity to test ride the trikes on the demo track. It is enormously gratifying to watch the recumbent-grin spread from ear to ear when people ride our trikes, and the recurring feedback was “the best trike I’ve ridden all day”.

Neil and Hero really appreciated the efforts dealers made to come to the show; there’s nothing like meeting people face to face to discuss products and get feedback. Dealers said that they are delighted with our service, speed of deliveries and quality of the trikes. We were also approached by a number of people wanting to sell ICE trikes, so next season you may find a new ICE dealer near you.

Thank you to everyone at the Recumbent Cycle Con for organising a brilliant event. The show has the potential to grow into an annual epic for recumbent riders, dealers and manufacturers. We look forward to next year!