Posted: 18 July, 2022
I’m a wheelchair user with autism and ADHD, and I don’t often get to take part in sports.
I have to be careful about being too upright for too long as my heart rate spikes / blood pressure drops and I can faint. (I have previously broken my leg quite badly with this.)
A friend told me about it in Croxteth Park and we went along to have a look. I was surprised by how easy it was and how friendly everyone was, so I began attending at Springfield Park near me.
Wheels for All has given me a chance to get some exercise that suits me and is physically possible for me to do. My daughter also loves it, so it’s getting her out of the house and doing some exercise that suits her. I ride the handcycle, because my legs are not very good and my hip bones are congenitally deformed.
At the Christmas event I also rode on the front of a bike pedalled by the people I came with, in my wheelchair. The staff are all very good at treating disabled people like people, while acknowledging and accommodating disability. That is a very rare thing, and it’s incredibly precious to me as someone who has to navigate abled society all the time.
Wheels for All has expanded my social circle, obviously. The day we went to the Christmas event in Litherland Park was one of my favourite days of 2021.
I love being part of an inclusive cycling community. The opportunity to come out of my house is really valuable, and being part of a community is really important to me. I always know I can ask for whatever support I need, and it will be provided or a solution will be found. I’m always telling people about Wheels for All because I want more people to participate!
Download Snoof’s story here.
