Ex-RAF serviceman Luke Delahunty, 45, was paralysed in a motorcycle crash but found hand-cycling has given him a new lease of life

Iremember lying in a hospital bed, in 1996, recovering from my crash, knowing I would never walk again. Life’s uncertainties were compounded by my injuries and I was left wondering what was going to become of me.

I first tried hand-cycling five years after the accident, but it wasn’t until 2008 that I bought my first bike, from eBay. Then, living in west London, it was difficult to navigate the busy, narrow roads. When I started, the position, so low on the road, felt vulnerable but you eliminate the risks with a mirror, lights and a flag, and as hand-bikes are unusual I think car drivers are more wary. After I moved to Aylesbury and began cycling on country lanes I discovered a passion for it.

In 2011 a friend suggested we ride to Paris with a group from the National Spinal Injuries Centre. As an ex-serviceman I was up for a challenge. It was an epic adventure and I did it again the following year. I have since ridden the bike through New York and around New York state on US Veteran charity ‘Soldier Rides’. I’ve cycled to Amsterdam and back, and from Budapest to Vienna for charity. On another ride, from Treviso to Turin in Italy, I stopped to adjust my backpack while my fellow riders cycled ahead. I went full pelt to catch up with them but hadn’t noticed that they’d all turned off the main road. Thankfully one of them spotted me and called out for me to turn around! In 2016 I was selected for the Invictus Games, in Florida, which was incredible. I also competed in Toronto in 2017. In between those Games I won a cycling holiday – by posting a selfie of me and the bike in front of the Eiffel Tower – to the Greek island of Evia. That was stunning, I would recommend anyone who loves cycling go there. It’s a cliché, I know, but life really is what you make it and, as a paraplegic, getting into hand-cycling has given me a sport I love, new friends and truly incredible experiences.

As a paraplegic, getting into handcycling has given me a sport I love