Finding Balance

My husband is eager to find a way to ride a bike again, not only for himself, but for me.  Years ago, I would run while he rode alongside me.  At the time, I was touched, but slightly annoyed because I used to think of running as my time alone, without anyone talking to me.  It was rare for me to have time like that with five kids and a husband in the house.

What started as him riding while I ran soon turned into him walking while I ran, and him walking a 5K with me, then finally, both of us doing a 1/2 marathon.  He still had his leg at the time, although it was a mangled mess encased in a full brace.  He could walk around the house without crutches, but for longer walks, he used crutches to prevent damage to his leg and to help with balance.  We enjoyed our time together, and I was so proud of his determination.

Since his amputation, balance has become much more difficult.  There are things you simply cannot do with a prosthesis, or at least with his prosthesis.  These include swimming and biking, both things he previously enjoyed.  He can manage to paddle around with one leg, although he can't swim like he used to.  Riding a bike eludes him, though.

With only one leg, he has to push with the one foot, and wait for the pedal to return, or use a cage and push down, then pull up with that foot.  The problem with using a cage when you only have one foot is that if anything throws you, it's harder to get that foot to the ground.  Beyond that, biking is a matter of balance.  If you only have one leg, one side is heavier than the other and throws everything off.

Solutions to this problem tend to be cumbersome and expensive.  There are tricycles, but those are difficult to transport if you want to ride somewhere other than at home, and few of them have gears.  There are recumbent trikes that are more portable and comfortable, but cost in the thousands.  Hand bikes are even more expensive.  Of course there are organizations that help defray the cost of bikes for handicapped athletes, but they rightfully want some indication that you will use the bike fairly seriously.  My husband may use a bike for more than just riding around, but then again, he may not.  It's hard to know until you have one to try out for a while.

Balancing the cost with the benefits are where we are right now on the bike issue.  It seems ridiculous to spend thousands of dollars on something that might get used a few times a year, but if he had the bike, he might well use it much more than that.  I would love to have him ride around the block with me while I run, because I have come to hate going out to run alone.