Shared from Within Reach Magazine Spring 2024. Flick through the whole magazine here!
Dad and daughter, Paul and Elsie, and Lyndsey Hollands, Elsie’s Para Manager told Within Reach all about getting into cycling, the challenges they’ve had to overcome for Elsie to race competitively, and about how Reach members could begin their own journey into para cycling.
You must be so proud of Elsie. You have to be pretty confident to speak at the Kendal Mountain Festival. How did that come about?
Lyndsey Hollands, Elsie’s Para Manager at British Cycling asked me if Elsie would take part in the Kendal Mountain Festival. After we said yes, we did some research and found out that the Kendal Mountain Festival was a big deal… Too late to pull out now! So, Elsie just got on with it.
Elsie, how was it – was it nerve-wracking?
When I talked at Kendal Mountain Festival at first I was quite scared as all the other people were adults and seamed more confident, but I just ignored everything and tried to be my normal self. I talked about my bike set up and how I ride, also how I started my journey into cycling.
At first I was quite scared as all the other people were adults and seamed more confident, but I just ignored everything and tried to be my normal self.
Has Elsie always been into bikes? How did you know when it was time to pursue it?
Both Emma (mom) and myself, were Ironman athletes, so we liked bikes and riding. Elsie’s brother, George, is 2 years older, he got a ‘balance buddy’ at an early age and passed this on to Elsie.
But Elsie was sat in the bike seat from a very early age, with her brother gliding by her side.
George went from balance buddy to bike with pedals BUT the bike had STABILISERS (big mistake) so with Elsie, we had learnt a lesson from George, we kept her on her balance buddy around 6 months longer but she went straight onto a pedal bike without stabilisers. Elsie rode an Islabike as her first proper bike. Made for kids, it’s fit for purpose. Elsie jumped on and just pedalled off!
You mentioned the Hope Tech Academy and the ‘Hope dual lever’ they created, how did you come across them? What’s different about their adaptation compared with others you’ve come across?
At an early age, it isn’t a problem, one brake is fine, but Elsie was getting faster and harder to stop, so I had to try different braking systems, but the cable dual brake levers were normally for adults and too big for small hands. After a lot of trial and error we got Elsie a Islabike mtb, with a hydraulic braking system. With a Islabike you can put lever on whichever side you require, so Elsie had two separate levers on one side, which worked a treat. It didn’t look sexy, but it worked.
Once Elsie had grown out of that bike, we needed a small adult mtb, but with adult bikes, you can’t do the same as an Islabike brake system. So, I needed to find something different. From talking to our local bike shop, they’d seen this dual braking system for one-handed riders.
We did a bit of research and decided to give it a go, Elsie’s cycling club (Shibden Cycling Club) sponsored the brakes for Elsie, which aren’t cheap, but it’s a full braking system and worth every penny. We ordered these brakes and the local bike shop fitted them…
My wife says I’m not easily pleased…but these brakes are a game changer, they are mint and look very sexy (you can even choose your favourite colour 😍).
Elsie, 3 years ago you gave a talk to the cycle group ’41 Club’ and raised funds for Reach… What’s been happening since? It sounds like you’re more passionate about cycling than ever?
Since then, I’ve started racing Nationals for Cyclocross as a first year Under 14 (age groups are two-year groups). I’ve started changing bikes within the race (when it’s muddy or you’ve broken it) you can swap your bike every half lap if required, depending on conditions and the mechanicals. I’m able to swap bikes because Hope Tech have designed me a new handlebar attachment, so I can push a lever on my right-hand side and this releases the arm from the bike.
What have you learned about raising a child with an upper limb difference whilst supporting Elsie on this journey and what advice would you give to Reach parents who might have bike mad children?
As I’ve been involved in para-coaching and race organising, Elsie is an easy fix, in the bigger scale of things… As we sorted the brakes out with the Hope Duo Lever, I discovered another little problem to solve. So, we worked with our local prosthetic centre; Elsie’s arm man (Asad) was very proactive, we started a very good relationship, we worked together to design and develop an arm and attachment for Elsie’s riding.
After a bit of trial and error, Asad designed an arm and adaptor that add 360-degree rotation and it worked really well.
For some background, Elsie does Cyclocross, basically cross country running with a bike, which means jumping off and on her bike over a multi-lap course.
So, Asad designed an arm and it worked, for a time…With racing, components get worked hard, some components were wearing out very quickly. Also, Elsie’s arm was popping out mid-race, and Elsie was losing time trying to get her arm back into the attachment (another problem to solve).
Elsie’s moved up into the Under 14 age group, and completes at National Cyclocross events, which introduced another problem – riders need to swap bikes mid race, sometimes every half a lap, depending on mud and mechanical problems. So, it was back to Hope to ask for advice!
Hope said they’d help Elsie, as they want to do something for grassroots. So, they designed an arm attachment that fits to the handlebars with a lever on Elsie’s right-hand side that releases the arm. Elsie can now swap bikes during a race; jump off her bike and shoulder her bike to climb steep hills, and do what every-able bodied rider can do, almost.
We’ve closed the gap on able-bodied riders in Elsie’s age group. Hopefully, until the next little problem to overcome….
So, what have I learned… To problem-solve, ask advice from people in the trade and those who’ve done it before. Learn to fail and come back with a better product.
Don’t be fobbed of with something that’s not fit for purpose. Your child or athlete is the most important person in this process. And do everything you can to let your child achieve their dreams. And keep an open mind and think outside the box.
How did Elise get involved with British Cycling?
I’m a club coach for Shibden, so I involved myself with paracycling as well as able-bodied cycling. I’m also a race organiser. There weren’t any races after covid, so I started organising them and it’s snowballed. At one of my able-bodied circuit races, British Cycling tagged a para race on the back of mine. At this race I met Lyndsey and the para coaches. She must have liked my races as I organised two para races the year after, the rest is history as they say…
That sounds so exciting… Elsie, what’s on the horizon? Have you got any events lined up?
I’ve been part of a programme with British Cycling called Limitless, which is to help para riders get into cycling, without feeling the pressure of not being good enough or not as good as others.
How does it work? Would you recommend other Reach members getting involved?
I think if you were wanting to start cycling, it would be the perfect chance to take and to not only make new friends, but also memories doing awesome things and overcoming challenges.
Lyndsey, what’s on the horizon for Elsie with British Cycling?
Elsie has been invited to participate in the new Para-cycling Development Centres. The sessions are specifically for riders with eligible impairments, who we hope will progress onto our talent pathways and/or will compete at national and international level in para-cycling. She will use these to have regular contact with our coaches and be able to develop her skills in road and track cycling. Next year we are excited to see her compete in the National Disability and Para-Series.
Speaking of talent pathways… Are there any para cycling ‘try out’ or talent events coming up in 2024?
British Cycling is always on the lookout for our next generation of talented para-riders and we regularly host Talent ID events for anyone with a passion for cycling and aspirations to be an elite athlete. You can find out more about upcoming events by contacting paratalent@britishcycling.org.uk.
British Cycling is always on the lookout for our next generation of talented para-riders and we regularly host Talent ID events for anyone with a passion for cycling…
As Elsie said, the best way to get involved is to start cycling with your local Limitless Club. Limitless is British Cycling inclusive and accessible cycling programme, which is supporting riders with disabilities to get involved and progress through the pathway. Join a club, train and compete, and you could, like Elsie, be invited along to a para-cycling development centre.
You can find details of all our Limitless clubs at www.britishcycling.org.uk/limitless or by contacting: limitless@britishcycling.org.uk
Shared from Within Reach Magazine Spring 2024. Flick through the whole magazine here!