The story
Prior to his amputation Rob was out riding and meeting up with friendship group ‘Team Toss’ every week, and travelled twice a year to Spain to enjoy track days together. A recent below-knee amputee, and a keen motorbike owner with both road and track bikes, Rob’s dream was to return to the hobby he loved.
After several months recovering in hospital, Rob began his journey to return to biking. He was referred to the Harold Wood Prosthetics Centre where he met his rehabilitation team, including prosthetist Colin Gardner and prosthetic technician Glen Adams.
Rob talked Colin through his daily activities, which included working within the transport industry and playing Badminton - but his passion for biking shine through the most: Rob lit up when he talked about biking, telling Colin about his track days away, this would be one of his major goals when it comes to identifying what he wanted to achieve with a prosthesis. Colin could understand the passion as a keen biker himself.
“I was desperate to get to Spain, but I had a long way to go… walking on a prosthetic leg for a start! Then getting back on the road bike to build up my confidence and finally to get on the track bike. I listened to the advice given by the whole team at Harold Wood. It’s a huge thing to take that first step on a prosthesis and I just couldn’t believe at first that anyone could understand but Colin knew just how I was feeling.”
The solution
Working with Colin and the wider team, Rob built up his confidence when walking, and was able to ride the road bike again after some adjustment to his boots for a pin-lock fastening and passing an assessment with the DVLA. Rob’s prescription is for a pin lock liner system which worked well for everyday use and social biking. However, Rob struggled with comfort on the track bike; the one he would need to enjoy trips away.