We start the New Year with a bang and a dose of positive energy. Do you think that back pain is the end of the world? If yes, than we present to you Marek – a man for whom the lack of an arm and a leg is not a barrier to cycling. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Marek Turkiewicz, disabled mountainbiker from Poland.
Justyna John, 43RIDE: Hello, we should start our interview with the question – how do you do it? Without your left arm and right leg you are able to ride a bike?
Marek Turkiewicz: Hi! I must admit that when I watch movies from my various bike rides, I also wonder how, because it looks cosmic. Now, after 3 years of riding with one leg and one arm in a sling, it comes naturally to me, but the beginnings were difficult. Recently, I have dug up films that show that I wasn’t even able to move on my own without protection. Fortunately for me, I have fantastic friends who turned their backs on the process of getting back on the bike as safe as possible, so that I was able to gradually break down new barriers and polish my skills. Today I am able to get out on the bike on my own, without fear of getting stuck somewhere on the trail.
Your disability comes from an accident? Did you lost your limbs at the same time?
I have also ridden a motorcycle enduro for years and during one of the rides I was very unlucky when I ended in the tree. I woke up two weeks later at the Multi-organ Injury Treatment Center. The leg couldn’t be saved, and the left hand since then has been completely paralyzed due to a brachial plexus injury.
Did you practice any sports, including cycling, before the accident?
Of course! In addition to the above-mentioned enduro, I have been snowboarding since I was a child, and then, when I was already in college, I was training boxing as a hobby for some time. Besides, I did a lot of endurance and strength training and I think that thanks to them I am able to walk today. In the accident, I broke several vertebrae in the thoracic spine and I dread to think what my spinal cord would look like today if it were not for the strong paraspinal muscles. This is such a small tip for everyone who practices extreme sports. It is worth take care of general fitness, because it can protect us from minor or major injuries.
Coming back to sports. Mountain biking was and fortunately continues to be my greatest sport passion. I started riding at the age of 13 and this condition lasted until 2013. Then I had an accident, I was just starting my 6th year of studies and my future was under a serious question mark.
Such an accident is not only physical injuries, but also a huge blow to the psyche, did the bicycle allow you to return to “normalcy”? After what time was it possible to return to physical activity?
It took 5 years and 7 months to get back on the bike. It was a time when I had to learn to live in a new body, accept it, and find solutions to overcome the physical limitations. It’s a long and very difficult process, both physically and mentally. Of course, the vision of getting back on the bike was something that turned me on and gave me a solid dose of motivation.
I remember clearly that during my stay in the hospital, freshly after amputating my leg, I watched the Rudimental clip for the song “Waiting all night”. And there, in this video, the story of a guy who rides a BMX and loses a leg in a collision with a truck is shown. And just like me, he wakes up in the hospital with one limb shorter and then starts a struggle to come back to life & biking. Unfortunately, in my case, due to the severity of the injuries, it was a huge challenge to regain any form of fitness. For the first year I didn’t have a prosthetic leg, so I rode, or rather I was transported in a wheelchair. On top of that, I had two more nerve reconstruction surgeries in my left hand and spent countless hours with physical therapists. Later, learning to walk with a prosthesis was also extremely difficult. So return to biking sounded completely unreal. My right leg is amputated at hip level, so I can’t grab the saddle. In addition, the inert left hand hidden in a sling makes it very difficult. But it is known that hope always dies last. A few months after the accident, I sold my bike to my friend and bought a rowing ergometer. I started to train regularly to see how much muscular stabilization of my damaged body could be made. Later I added an exercise bike to it. It turned out that I am able to hold on to a wide saddle. And so I pedaled watching that Rudimental music video over and over again, visualizing in my head that I would go back to riding.
I knew that the bike I would be riding would have to be heavily modified, but the problem was that I couldn’t find any cyclist on the internet with a hip enucleation and only one working arm. I had no place to get inspiration, which effectively discouraged me from making any attempts. The thought lingered in my head that if no one in the world had done it yet, why should I be able to do it? Until I was finally mentally ready to face it. And then my friend (the same one I sold the bike to) called me to inform me that he had bought an e-bike. He said that he has already carried out all possible simulations of riding with one leg and one hand, and that he is convinced that if we manage to create the right saddle for me, I will be able to ride an electrician.
Is your bike adapted in any way to make it easier for you to ride?
My bike has several important modifications without which the ride wouldn’t be possible.
Let’s start with the most important thing – the saddle. It’s a completely custom design. It is a converted go-cart seat, properly cut, covered with a gel insert and mounted on a special structure that can be screwed to the seatpost. Thanks to it, I don’t fall off the bike because it stabilizes me on the sides and at the back. We took the inspiration to create such a saddle from one of the American motocross riders who rides despite a spinal cord injury. By the way, this is the power of the Internet. I wrote to him on Instagram asking if he could send me pictures of his saddle and if he had any potential tips. A few days later, I received a reply with photos and lots of valuable information. Martyn Ashton, very well-known in the cycling community, has a similar solution in his bicycle.
Another element is the steering damper. Riding with one hand is very demanding, so a device that stabilizes the handlebars when riding over rough terrain is referred to by many riders with a similar problem as a “game changer”. And I sign it with both hands…. okay, onlyone! But honestly! I remember that on the first day we installed it, I drove into every hole on purpose, because I couldn’t believe how well it worked.
The next thing, of course, is the brakes. Fortunately, at Hope Tech they took pity on the fate of one-armed bicycle thugs and released a brake that has two handles (in one construction). It can therefore brake separately with the front and rear brakes using only one hand. It looks cool and works even better.
Last but not least, i.e. a pedal. For quite obvious reasons I have to ride clipped in, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to pedal. Interestingly, before the accident, I was riding on platforms and had no experience of riding with detachable pedals. And I will not hide that I was terrified! That’s why at the beginning I tried to do a bit with the neodymium magnet pedals, because it was easier to detach the foot from them if you needed a quick support. However, in the long run, this solution didn’t work.
What is the most difficult for you while riding?
Two things. First, steep descents. This is due to the construction of the saddle, which prevents me from sliding over the rear wheel. I know that this element can be improved a bit and I will work on it next season.
The second thing is the roots and stones on the tracks. Due to the fact that I am only standing on one leg while riding, the pedal is always in the down position. As a result, I have already hooked a protruding root many times, but luckily I always came out of it unscathed. I plan to shorten the crank arm and see how it rides with, for example, a 130 mm arm. Maybe this will be a solution?
What do you enjoy most while riding?
This is really the whole spectrum of positive emotions from riding. Freedom, because I can go even to the farthest corner of the forest, which is normally unavailable for me. Contact with nature, because nothing else relaxes me so much. Spending time with friends with whom I rode for many years before the accident and re-experiencing all the emotions and hundreds of fun moments of being on a bike together somewhere else.
It is also difficult to single out one thing here. It’s good to just be back in the saddle and enjoy every moment.
When visiting different places, do you notice areas that make it difficult for you, as a person with disabilities, to use bike parks?
In my current one-legged and one-handed form, I haven’t had any contact with bike parks so far, so it’s difficult for me to express myself authoritatively.
So everything is ahead of you, but what do you think could be improved by increasing the availability of such places?
Of course, my dream is that every place is designed so that people with disabilities can move freely there.
I think that in this matter you can fly a classic and mention what should be in any new infrastructure, i.e. elevators, less steep stairs (with handrails), less steep ramps for wheelchairs, adapted toilets or the appropriate number and location of parking spaces.
What do you do privately and does it translate into a hobby or vice versa, does cycling have an impact on your work?
I am a radiologist. I work in an oncology hospital, where I diagnose tumors of the abdominal cavity and pelvis, in examinations using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Working in such a place can be stressful. Research is difficult and time-consuming, which, combined with a very large number of seriously ill patients, leads to work under constant time pressure. Almost every patient who comes to us needs to start treatment as soon as possible. And what treatment he will receive depends on what we write in the description of the study. So there is no denying that being able to ride a bike into the woods and reset your head from all those dramatic images is truly a wonderful thing.
How do others (cyclists or bystanders) react to you?
Cyclists very enthusiastic. A guy with one leg and an arm hidden in a sling that rides singles (and quite efficiently!) is a very unusual sight, so some cyclists look for contact themselves, because they are simply humanly curious. And then I like to tell stories.
Non-cyclists, on the other hand, are mostly hikers whom I pass somewhere on the trails and their reactions are most often as follows: first there is the first look, as at any other person riding a bicycle. So nothing special. It is only after a few seconds, when the brain has processed and understood the scene that has just been presented to it, that the eyes open very wide and the neck turns dangerously fast towards me.
You used to ride a moto before, but enduro cycling is not the safest sport either. What do your loved ones say?
To define my riding as an enduro is a very big exaggeration. I just ride relatively easy single tracks (although it still doesn’t change the fact that any form of mountain biking is more or less dangerous). Of course, my relatives are aware of this, but at the same time they know how important this sport is to me. And I know that they are as happy about my return to the bike as I am.
A sneak peak of cooperation with one of the brands has recently appeared on your Instagram profile, can you reveal the details?
I will not reveal anything! Go to the profile, give hearts (LOTS!) and wait for the development of events! But seriously, it will all turn out at the beginning of 2022.
Finally, what are your cycling plans for the 2022 season?
I would like to create a new saddle that will be more comfortable and, most importantly, will allow me to ride technically more difficult trails, which I hope will translate into more frequent visits to the mountains.
In addition, the idea of helping other amputees to return to cycling has been drawn to my mind for a long time. If there is time and opportunities for this in 2022, I will be delighted.
Thank you for your time & see you on the trails!