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 | You and Yours - Transcript BBC Radio 4 |
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| TX: 12.08.05 - Wheelchair Bike PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON |
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| Downloaded from www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 THE ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT. BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF MISHEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE BBC CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS COMPLETE ACCURACY. ROBINSON Imagine not being able to indulge in your most passionate pastime, for a few days perhaps. Well think about forever. For wheelchair users, many of them former bikers, there's been no way to really experience the freedom of the open road again, until now. A revolutionary new high performance motorbike is about to go on the market. And the key feature of the Conquest 850 is that wheelchair users don't have to transfer to it out of their chairs. Carolyn Atkinson headed to the Three Sisters race track near Wigan in Lancashire where the designer, Alan Martin, took a former biker Carl Brunning and a wannabe bike Mik Scarlett for a test drive. [LAUGHTER] MARTIN Okay Mik, there's a little teeny step there, just pull yourself up. SCARLETT Okay cool, yeah that's done it, I'm in. Now I've got to try and find what to do with my huge monkey legs. MARTIN He's brought along these massive big boots ... SCARLETT I'm dressed as a motorcycle bike type person and you're expecting me to wear baggy trousers. Oh I'm in. MARTIN That was a nightmare. SCARLETT Once I get a crash hat on my hair I'll be happy, because you've got to understand although I like all this bikery thing there's an 80s thing at the heart of me and driving around on a bike really ruins your hair, so a crash hat will be good. ATKINSON So let's describe - this is a bike. SCARLETT The front part is like a motorbike, it is a motorbike and then it's been kind of rigged through a set of levers and the handlebars of the bike instead of being at the front are sort of actually where you'd normally sit. And I'm sat in my wheelchair in a kind of pod. MARTIN There you go we'll pulling away - are you okay there? ATKINSON Off we go. SCARLETT It means you can steer the bike from your chair and your kind of really protected as well. MARTIN On the left hand side, where you are, there's a clutch lever. SCARLETT Okay yeah. MARTIN Now if you want to pull that in - right? Now keep it in, hold it in. Now I've just changed gear - oh my god. Have you got it in? SCARLETT Yeah. MARTIN Okay we're in neutral now, so you can let go for a minute. ATKINSON Mike, this is your first time on a bike. SCARLETT Yeah I went into my wheelchair when I was 15 and that meant that I completely missed out on that kind of teenage rebellion moped 125 L plate kind of fun that all my friends had. You drive in your car and your mates zoom by on their great big bikes, looking cool and like extras from Mad Max and you think - damn I want one. MARTIN Now on the right hand side there, you see there's buttons, there's the green one, red one and a black one. The green is the change gear to go up gears and the red you have to change to come down. We're currently going round in a circle, while I'm giving this young man some instruction. ATKINSON How did you come up with the idea? MARTIN My son Stuart, he had an accident at work, which he believed was going to make him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He was saying to me that there's nothing out there for me, it makes me feel ill just sitting in a wheelchair. I was, at that time, working in a bike shop. I went and sat thinking about this and I spent a year drawing and making models and then I decided to send some plans to Sir Frank Williams of F1 and showed him what I was trying to do and he very kindly sent me some money - a donation - to start the project off. And without his help I'm sure this vehicle wouldn't be here today. ATKINSON Also here is Carl Brunning. Now 20 years ago Carl was a passionate biker, he then had an accident and ever since then he's not been back on a bike. Until now. BRUNNING I can't wait, I'm looking forward to it immensely. I went through the speed - the need for speed, perhaps it's a male testosterone thing - I'm not sure - but I need the speed and I need to do some circuits, I need the feeling, the buzz, the adrenaline back again, that's what I'm all about. It's sexy, it's sleek looking, it turns heads - it makes people think what is that? It's just an awesome machine, you must agree yourself. ATKINSON It does. I mean it's a silver mean machine isn't it. BRUNNING It is, it's like the Hawkwind song I've Got a Silver Machine, you know. I've got a silver machine, and I'm still feeling mean ... MUSIC - HAWKWIND It's just a beautiful sexy piece of equipment that turns heads, it gives you the power of the open road again. SCARLETT It's great. [LAUGHTER] MARTIN Throttle back, press the red lever, sorry the green, drop a gear and we're up nice and smoothly and we're going round. How do you feel now? SCARLETT It is wonderful to steer. I can completely understand why it is that when I was in hospital all the bikers around me that had had bike accidents, while they laid almost encased in plaster, were adding up how much insurance money they'd get so they could buy another bike. You can tell I'm nervous my voice has gone all funny and squeaky. ATKINSON Price is a bit of a tricky one isn't it - 18 grand? BRUNNING Eighteen thousand pounds which is the price of an average car and a whole new lifestyle. ATKINSON But why this as opposed to a car? BRUNNING I do have a car, why do some people go to Spain, why do some people go to America? This is a total independence, this is my toy for me, for my own personal satisfaction being an ex-biker. I want to be out on the open road with my friends on motorbikes all by myself, just for days out. I don't want the trouble of getting in and out of a car all the time, I want to be able to just get in and drive and get out in my chair instead of assembling it all the time and disassembling it all the time. Right, so I'll just transfer it, it's quite literally a matter of seconds. Lock the front casters in position. You'll hear a click. And I'm locked in now, totally in position and I'm ready to rock 'n roll. Build the revs up and here we go. Whoa yes, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful - 30 miles an hour, not a [indistinct word], not a shake. It's been 20 years and it's all coming flooding back to me now. It's so wonderful to be back on the open road, have the wind in your hair. MUSIC - HAWKWIND MARTIN And one day in the not too distant future I'm going to be poodling along on a motorway at sort of 70 miles an hour, and suddenly one of my vehicles is going to flash by me and that day I'll say to myself - Wow, yes, I've done it. And that's my dream. MUSIC - HAWKWIND BRUNNING The thrill you get is just unbelievable. To be back on the open road again - wonderful, simply, simply wonderful. MUSIC - HAWKWIND ROBINSON It's a boy thing isn't it, always worry when a man's voice goes all squeaky with excitement. And if you want to see Carl, Mik and Alan on that silver dream machine then there's a picture of them and it's on our website. Back to the You and Yours homepage The BBC is not responsible for external websites |
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