Sarah, eTrike, UK

The eTrike gave back so much that had been lost.
I’m 66 and have ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), a multi-system disorder and POTS (postural tachycardia syndrome). I became largely house/bed bound and for a year had no means of getting outside and I was missing so much of my former life including things like long-distance walking and mountaineering. I used to be outside every day with my dog and found great benefit from connecting with nature.

Then in May ’21 along came DD, my eTrike. Called DD (Double Dare) in memory of a very special young lady called Alex who was my inspiration to get going in a wheelchair. I even chose one of her favourite colours from the very impressive range available.

For various reasons, accepting a wheelchair wasn’t easy, however, as soon as I got my eTrike, it felt right straight away and most acceptable. I am happy to be out and about in it. It looks so good and attracts much attention and discussion. It has the feel of a mountain bike about it. It looks like the real deal!

Whilst I found the controls quite easy to master it took me a long time to get going because of the ME and resulting backlash from the effort and being more upright. It can often be days or even weeks between outings although I did build up to almost daily use for a while last summer. At first I could only manage a few metres with support and built that up to longer trips with company. Then came the amazing day when I went out to post a letter on my own! It was so fantastic, really liberating!

I started to build up the distance on the road and then off road. It was unbelievably good to get back to the top of a hill again! I have got quite daring where I take DD and have rolled it more than once! Remember to lean into the slope!!

The furthest road trip I have done on my own is 8 miles. Because of the ME I like that I can have the controls fairly close to my body, so no reaching out. I mostly just use the power assist but occasionally I will use the levers for power as well. Because of the POTS I don’t tolerate being too upright but I have the back of the seat lowered as much as possible and the backrest angled back as far as it will go so that overall I am slightly reclined. An adapted backrest might have been preferable but I had just about enough leeway. I find DD to be far more comfortable than my standard power chair.

The suspension is really good. We have been able to get it into the back of a friend's small car fairly easily using ramps so I’ve had a few trips further afield. I think it is great that the build is based on mountain bike parts. It has made it possible to have it maintained in the village where I live. I also appreciate the ongoing help from the team at Mountain Trike.

I am very lucky to live on a small island in the inner Hebrides & thought I would share a video of some of my exploits in DD with Solan either running alongside or sitting regally on my lap. (Sarah. May ‘24)