Handcycle
15 January 2014 -- 15/365
East Providence, Rhode Island
A snippet of veteran advice for anyone engaged in the 365 Project is, if you spot something and wish you had taken a photo, then turn around and go take the photo. That is the real story behind today's photo. When I went out at lunch for my photo, I planned to stop at Haines Point Park in Barrington. Driving down Bullocks Point Avenue, though, I spotted the gentleman you see here riding down the East Bay Bike Path. Forget Haines Point, this was the photo to capture. I quickly pulled into a parking lot marked "Customer Parking Only," grabbed my camera, and walked out onto the bike path.
When I first saw the bike and rider, I thought it was a recumbent bike. There are several recumbent riders in the area, although they are rare enough to warrant a photo. As he passed me, though, I noticed that it's actually a handcycle, not a recumbent. A handcycle is pedaled with the hands, not the feet. You can see in this photo that his feet are firmly planted on the stationary bars running alongside the front wheel. The style of this particular handcycle, has a racing configuration, and given the speed with which the rider passed me, I'd wager he was out for a training ride. I never got an opportunity to ask since he speed only allowed time for a "How's it going?" / "Great weather" exchange.
Post processing started with a neutral greyscale filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, regions, contrast, boost black, boost white, and protect highlights. A levels adjustment was added in PSE.
Good advice, Ron, as always. We've seen some people who can't use their legs use these devices on our bike path, but as you say, it probably wasn't that if he was going very fast and his legs seemed strong. Still, I admire people who find a way to go do what they want to do despite the difficulty.
January 16th, 2014
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
