Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Motivated to keep on pedalling
Gold-medal hand cyclist credits family for breakthrough after injury
HE MAY have been down and out but this did not stop Stuart McCreadie from living his best life.
McCreadie was in a car crash in 1992, where he suffered a severed spinal cord at a T8 complete (T stands for thoracic and the 8 indicates at which thoracic vertebrae the cord is severed. Complete means the cord is completely severed, so there is no feeling or movement from T8 down).
The Hout Bay resident said: “It was obviously a difficult time. A lot of fear, worry and uncertainty. Much to process, work out, understand and come to terms with. So, not a great space. But I had the support of family which is invaluable.
“Essentially, you take it day by day. And over time one becomes adjusted to things and the new way you are going to have to live.
“I love the bike. It gets you outside, gets you social, gets you fit and does all the healthy things that regular cardiovascular exercise does. In my case, it’s particularly good for circulation and also a good way to clear the head.
“I suppose a general sense of well-being is what motivates me to keep on riding my bike,” said McCreadie, who represented South Africa at the Paralympics in London in 2012 and was a gold, silver and bronze medallist at Para-cycling World Cups. He also participated in a 500km tour in 2008.
“I had been cycling for about six months when along with another six hand bikers I did a five-day, 500km tour that left from George and went via Riversdale to Oudtshoorn and back to George. That will always be a great memory. I think I’m still sunburnt from that,” he said, laughing.
McCreadie will participate in his 11th Cape Town Cycle Tour next weekend. He said what keeps him motivated to do the world’s largest individually timed cycle event was the support from bystanders along the route.
“I expect it’s going to be tiring. If there is little wind and everything goes well on the day I would like to come in under 3 hours 30 minutes. Generally, I’m just looking forward to the excitement of the day and meeting up with all the other hand bike riders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Henry Shields Attorneys are sponsoring specialised kits to hand cyclists competing in the event.
Shields, a specialist personal injury attorney, said they supported all hand cyclists.
“We are in the field of personal injury and I believe we should plough back into our field. Some of the hand cyclists had motor accidents and were our clients.
“Another reason for this venture is to improve safety for every cyclist, whether using their hands or legs.”
“I suppose a general sense of well-being is what motivates me
Stuart McCreadie HAND CYCLIST