Have you achieved something that you never thought that you would?

Thanks to the development of neuroplasticity due to lots of repetitive  exercise for 18 months after my  my stroke I have now returned to the Over 55 Bike riding club (pushbike) and am amazed that 3 years after my stroke I can ride with cleats attached pedals. 

Wow, that is fantastic Ian. I can't ride with cleats, I just can't get my head around using them. Do you have any tips?

Hi Diana,

I was lucky that my stroke mainly affected my balance. I had an excellent neurological physiotherapist for 10 weeks twice a week who developed a program for me in her group exercise class. Then after that finished I exercised at home using her exercises.

A physiotherapist visited me at home and worked out a program for safely riding an exercise bike at home in terms of  speed and duration. I think this activity maintained my riding fitness.

And then my family helped me. For example I would feel I would fall off when I turned my head to check for traffic when I crossed a road. The family member would go ahead and call out when it was safe to cross the road.

The bike had to be stationary before I swung my leg over the bar, I lowered the seat so my feet could easily touch the ground when I needed to stop, and I could not change gear as this required me to take my hand off the handlebars  and this caused me to lose my balance.

But now after lots of practice I can ride normally.

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Maybe not a great effort, but I managed to swim (in the pool and in the ocean) and ride my road bike again. I feared that due to my issue with my balance and eye sight, I would struggle. Also, getting on the pane and flying to Europe and back. To explain, it was not so much the flight, but, the changeover at an unfamiliar airport (my cognitive disability). I feared that I would get lost and would miss the connecting flight. Well, it all went well!

These stories give me hope and help my perseverance to keep on trying. Will start advanced rehab! Used to ride my sports bicycle on the road, now should at least start with smart trainer at home... Whether it's running, swimming, riding, catching a plane, it's all fantastic and doable!

Hey Robert, you may want to check out Melissa's goal to get back on the bike too.

I hope this inspires you too!

Manfred used adult training wheels, which helped a lot.