Posted: 12 September, 2019
On 17 August, 2019, Hannah completed her second Superhero Tri at Dorney Lake, near Windsor. She’s published a blogpost detailing her experience of the day Hannah Deakin website.
As part of her training Hannah came along to our Woking Wheels for All centre and, with her permission, we’ve republished her cycling experiences here:
“I completed the 3km cycling stage, on a side-by-side upright tandem hand cycle, with my Dad. I had done lots of training, to prepare for the challenge, at the wonderful Surrey wheels for all, Woking. Well, I say I did but I should say we, because Dad had to train too! I think he needed the training as much as me! Surrey wheels for all are a great organisation, who enable everyone to get cycling. They have a vast array of bikes, suitable for different disabilities and abilities, that you can use during sessions in Woking and Epsom.
“Matt had the difficult challenge of cycling slowly-which isn’t easy- for the 3km, so he was in pace with Dad and me. I had to stop several times during the cycle to recover, to which Matt was very patient. There were three bridges involved which we had to cross twice. The first or two on the first half of the cycle didn’t seem too bad! We increased the speed of the bike in preparation of getting up the incline of the bridge, made it to the top and enjoyed a rest while the momentum took us on the decline. By the time we got to the third and fourth bridge I was frantically telling Dad to keep cycling and we were getting slower and slower and I was worried we were going to stop.
“We just made it to the top when we came to a halt. We were lucky that was then on the flat bit of the bridge so we could get going again and then use the decline to our advantage. I was huffing and puffing. Exhausted. Finally, the last two bridges were approaching and fatigue was very high. I dug deep for extra energy and determination to get through. On the last bridge I was so tired despite a ‘run up’ before we got slower and slower, we actually ground to a halt on the incline! The wonderful sidekicks asked if we wanted a push and poor Matt was probably worrying we were going to start rolling backwards and end up on top of him. Determined to do it on my own I said: ‘we will do it’. Using all our effort we got to the top of the bridge and down the other side and to the transition zone!
“I was so exhausted. I didn’t even have the energy to slide board back into my power chair. I just had to wait for a bit. Eventually, I made it!”
On behalf of the Wheels for All network we’d like to say “Well done” to Hannah and wish her every success in her next challenge. Her story demonstrates how rewarding physical activity is, and shows how beneficial our cycling network is.
