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Dutch athlete Monique van der Vorst became paralyzed from the hip down during a surgical operation when she was 13 years old, and used a wheelchair afterward. She also suffered a spinal cord injury in 2008. Meanwhile, she became a cyclist, using her hands for propulsion, and won two silver medals at the 2008 Paralympics, as well as other athletic honors. Then van der Vorst was involved in another crash last year when she was hit by a bicycle. While recovering, she began to feel tingling in her feet! Months of therapy followed while van der Vorst regained the use of her legs.
Doctors have no explanation for her amazing recovery. Some believe the trauma of her last accident may have jolted her body back into activity.
But the realities of her new-found joy also put an immediate end to a successful athletic career.
“Although walking is the best thing you could do in life, I immediately missed the sport, the people and the challenges,” van der Vorst said.
Rehabilitation and physiotherapy with an athletic focus strengthened her and as soon as she sat on a bike she again wanted to give it a try.
But van der Vorst has a new goal. She has signed with a professional cycling team as an able-bodied athlete, and is training to compete in the 2016 Olympics. Link -via Buzzfeed, where you can see more pictures.
(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/AP)
It’s now called the “special flip” because “Special Greg” Powell was the one who accomplished it. This performance of Nitro Circus was recorded in Gosford, Australia. -via reddit
A particularly steep hill caused grief for many competitors at the BUCS Cycling Championships at Moelfre Hall Downhill Track in Wales. If you think the hill doesn’t look all that steep in this video, notice the angle of the spectators. Bonus: Banana Splits music by The Dickies. Link -via Metafilter
If you’re the dainty type of cyclist who just can’t go anywhere without a touch of lace, you may consider this awesome reflective lace by Elena Corchero.
Link Via Craftzine Image Via Elena Corchero
I don’t know how you can ride for more than a mile on a penny farthing {wiki}. No brakes, no gears, and no stopping, or you’ll fall off! These five lunatics have managed thousands of miles on them. For example, Thomas Stevens rode one of these early bicycles around the world!
The only supplies Stevens had when he set out from San Francisco were fresh socks, one clean shirt, a raincoat that did double duty as a tent, and a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver. Because paved roads and automobiles were so scarce at the time, Stevens restricted most of his journey to wagon trails, towpaths, limited public roads, and, on sometimes even railroad tracks. Naturally, the penny-farthing was not built for the same rugged terrain as a locomotive. Therefore, he was often forced to walk, carrying his bike, hopping the railroad tracks, hoping that he would never hear the sound of a locomotive bearing down on him from behind.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by 
Forget Lance Armstrong! Carla and Henriette Hochdorfer, German Artistic Cycling champions, certainly take bicycling to a whole new level …
– via carla-henriette
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Christophe.
Link – via boingboing
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by whitespace.
Cyclists collide during a high speed race in Australia.
Initially two cyclists competing in a 2000m dash in Melbourne, Australia, collided at high speeds, resulting in a domino effect pile up. The collision caused other riders to crash with some travelling through the air. But all escaped serious injury.
Nine out of the 18 riders were involved in the pile up at the velodrome.
Source & Video: Reuters
