WHEN a whole new world opened up for Neil Russell after he discovered assisted handcycling, he was determined to make the great outdoors accessible to more people with disabilities.
He now runs an award-winning community interest company which lets others try the bikes so they too can fully experience the beauty of Scotland.
The scheme has been made possible thanks to the many accessible trails that have become a feature of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and are popular with walkers and cyclists of all abilities.
Now a new film has been made to encourage others to make use of the trails and explore some of the country’s most scenic places through active travel. The film was created by renowned cyclist and filmmaker Markus Stitz (below right), the first person to cycle around the world on a single-speed mountain bike.
One of the “stars” is Russell who cycles the trails regularly from his home in Callander, after discovering an electric handcycle could take him to places he previously thought would not be possible.
Despite being born with spina bifida, he had overcome his disability to become a keen cyclist – even continuing with a prosthesis on a pedal bike when one of his legs was amputated below the knee.
Other health reasons forced him eventually to stop using a pedal cycle but, not to be outdone, he swapped to handcycling although he was unnerved at being so low down on busy roads.
“Forest and gravel routes were what I really wanted to cycle but trying to ride anything gravelly or steep on a manual handcycle is a killer as your arms are not really designed for that,” he told the Sunday National.
“However, I was lucky enough to be able to get a second-hand assisted handcycle and I loved it.”
The problem is that the bikes are prohibitively expensive, ranging in price from around £6500 right up to £20,000.
“They are enormously expensive and although there are people who would love to get out in the hills and among nature, the equipment to do it just costs a fortune,” said Russell.
“Regular day wheelchair users can’t do it and people with limited ability are not going to get that far to get the physical, social and mental health benefits of being in nature.”
His answer was to set up an active riders’ collective two years ago which supports people to try the equipment. It has a fleet of six handcycles and an upright mountain e-bike.
“What it means is that people can come, try the equipment, get out to these places and don’t have to worry about buying their own or having transport for it,” he said.
The organisation has been so successful that in its first year, it won community project of the year at the Scottish Mountain Bike Awards and this year alone has helped around 200 people into the countryside.
The team have also made a documentary film called Three Wheel Drive which is currently doing the rounds of the festival film circuit and shows how people can become fully immersed in nature with the help of the equipment.
“It just gives you such a sense of freedom and often you can forget you have a disability,” said Russell.
However, he added it was important that there are trails that can accommodate the bikes and is pleased there is an ongoing conversation with the park authorities about improving access.
“It’s fantastic there is such a big forestry network as there are big, wide trails which are perfect because they are not technical, so within half an hour of having someone on a handcycle for the first time, you can take them into the hills and have them in places they thought they could never go to,” Russell said.
“We put them out there and you watch their minds explode a little bit because a whole world opens out to them. Disabled people’s worlds tend to be quite small and this suddenly changes it for them which is great.”
The trails include the three waymarked Gravelfoyle routes accessible to every piece of adaptive equipment.
“They were the first waymarked routes in the UK specifically audited to make sure adapted cyclists can do them which is huge progress,” Russell said.
“They are great for families, new cyclists and tourists because they are all waymarked and you can get round any gates that are closed.”
Closed gates can actually be dangerous for cyclists on adaptive equipment, Russell pointed out.
“If you do a big route, say 60km, and then 1km from home a gate is locked, you then have to go all the way back if you can – you can’t just lift your equipment over,” he said.
“But I was able to jump on my bike on Saturday and do an 80km cycle without coming across a gate that I could not get through. All in the national park.”
Filmmaker Stitz said the park was setting new standards in accessibility with its extensive network of walking, wheeling and cycling routes.
“It features some of the world’s most outstanding places to walk, wheel and cycle, with trails through some of Scotland’s most stunning natural habitats, from native woodlands and peatlands to mountains and lochs,” he said.
His film Gateways focuses on active travel and offers a glimpse into the lives of those who live and work there including Gordon Allan, manager of the Sir Walter Scott steamship which is now back on the water and can accommodate accessible bikes.
“We had a chap last year whose excitement was palpable when he came back to Loch Katrine,” said Allan. “He said it was fantastic to come to Trossachs pier, sail on the steamship to Stronachlachar and then return under his own power.”
As well as scenic boat trips, the park encompasses key trails like the West Highland Way, Rob Roy Way and the Great Trossachs Path, alongside the National Cycle Network Route 7 (Lochs and Glens Way).
Jim Riach, the trust’s active travel officer, said: “The park not only offers amazing trails and stunning landscapes but also everything you need to support your adventure, from welcoming accommodation and cafes to an extensive network of bike shops and rental services that make leaving the car at home an attractive option.”
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park is accessible to half of Scotland’s population by either public or active travel. Information on trips to the park by public transport can be found at www.trustinthepark.org
Gateways is now available on YouTube
