A professor who uses a wheelchair has created the first adaptive mountain bike in the UAE to help physically challenged people enjoy the outdoors.
Noel Joyce, a design and innovation professor at New York University in Shanghai, successfully designed and self-tested the bike at Abu Dhabi's Al Hudayriat trial last week.
“I rode along the 15km trail and it was amazing,” Mr Joyce, who lives in Ireland, told The National.
After a mountain bike accident 17 years ago left him having to use a wheelchair, Mr Joyce said he wants people with disabilities to enjoy the thrills of nature and mountain biking outdoors.
He came up with the idea after he found that most of the adaptive bikes available on the market were not suitable for rugged terrain and would often break. Some would take weeks to repair, he said.
My goal is to get one on every trail in the world so that someone with a disability can turn up with a friend and go mountain biking
Noel Joyce,
design and innovation professor at New York University, Shanghai
“A lot of the parts are expensive too,” he said. “A lot of disabled people get penalised for using these kinds of technology.”
To get around this, he decided to find a solution by designing a suitable bike himself.
“I went back to the drawing board and redesigned the entire bike that we can get ready within two weeks,” he said.
Adaptive bikes typically cost about $15,000 to $20,000. However, Mr Joyce was able to bring the cost of his bike down to $4,000.
“That means accessibility for more people,” he said.
The bike can also be custom made to suit specific challenges people have.
Mr Joyce and his team will be releasing the design files so that anyone can access it and build a bike.
“For example, I can't walk but I have good upper body strength so I can pedal well. Some people might not have good upper body strength, so they might need a different type of motor or pedal,” he said.
The design has all the components of a motorbike but comes with an electric motor for assistance in driving, 12-speed gear system, wide tyres for grip and weight, and hydraulic disc brakes.
Mr Joyce said he had already launched the bike in New York City in April, before he tested one in the UAE as part of his design project for New York University.
The next launches will take place in Ireland and Shanghai.
“My goal is to get one on every trail in the world so that someone with a disability can turn up with a friend and go mountain biking and get out into nature and go to places where they wouldn't have gone before,” he said.
Mr Joyce said he is passionate about the project because it will help people with challenges to overcome them.
“When I am on the bike, it is like I am not disabled any more. I can go places where I've never been able to go before.
“It's good exercise and also good for your mental well-being. When they do some more of the daring stuff on the bike, they even forget about their disability.
“The point of this project is to try to get people to have that same set of feelings, even if it's a fraction of it. If they can go into the forest and taste a blueberry, that is a powerful thing.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Women%E2%80%99s%20Asia%20Cup
%3Cp%3ESylhet%2C%20Bangladesh%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20results%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ELost%20to%20Sri%20Lanka%20by%2011%20runs%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ETue%20Oct%204%2C%20v%20India%3Cbr%3EWed%20Oct%205%2C%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EFri%20Oct%207%2C%20v%20Thailand%3Cbr%3ESun%20Oct%209%2C%20v%20Pakistan%3Cbr%3ETue%20Oct%2011%2C%20v%20Bangladesh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIGHT INFO
Men’s 60kg Round 1:
Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1
Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)
TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
