Physical Disabilities and Bikes

by Michelle
(Brampton, Ontario, canada)

Hi,

I wanted to ask a question and even though it's for a guy I thought I'd ask it here because women seem less judgmental about this sort of stuff.

I just started riding and my friend has been helping me with my bike maintenance and stuff. He has been teaching me how to do maintenance on my car as well. I can tell he really wants to learn how to ride but the trouble is he only has the use of one hand (his left) and has some trouble with his right leg as well although it is still usable it is not as good as his left. I know he tried riding a dirt bike when he was in high school a few times and almost crashed it. I have no idea how he managed to break (although I think that was why he almost crashed).

Anyway, I was wondering if there was a way to modify a bike so all of the controls were on one side. Maybe a trike? I don't know anything about any of this stuff and I know he couldn't afford it just yet, it's just that I see the look in his eyes when he looks at my bike. I don't want to encourage him to look into it until I have an idea of what's possible because, although he can do an amazing amount of stuff with only one hand working, I'm sure there are some things which are just impossible.

So I thought I'd ask a bunch of experienced riders if you thought any kind of work around was possible.

Thanks,

Michelle