Karen Darke - Cyclist


Certainly life is never short of challenges when you use a wheelchair and I definitely felt determined not to let it stop me spending time in wild places - I just had to find new ways to do it. I haven’t set out to achieve more, but I’m naturally attracted to adventure and challenges, so I suspect even if I hadn’t broken my back I’d have had a similarly adventurous path.


Why did you opt for cycling, as opposed to racing in a wheelchair? Was it an option that was considered? I used to do some wheelchair racing but I never really enjoyed the position that much – I got a lot of injuries in my forearms, wrists, neck etc. The biomechanics of handcycling seem a lot more balanced and easier on the body, plus you are looking up at the view rather than down at the tarmac, as you do in a racing wheelchair. Looking up and ahead, and being stretched out in a handbike, somehow inspires me more than being scrunched up looking down in a race chair! Handbikes, unlike


wheelchairs, also have gears, which really helps when living in Scotland and the hills!


Yourself and Rachel Morris crossing the finish line at London 2012 was a fantastic thing to see, at what point did you decide to do it? It was literally just a minute or two before the finish, we realised we were racing each other for a bronze medal, and something about that felt completely wrong given the journey we’d travelled together. It took us by surprise as much as anyone else – I could never have predicted that’s how the race would end!


It must have felt amazing?


It was so special to be there. My original goal was simply to try and


HEAD TO HEAD


get to the London Paralympics and take part, which seemed a far-fetched thing to aim for. So to get to compete there and win a silver medal was very special indeed. The journey behind it was tough though, probably harder than I expected. You have to sacrifice a lot to get to that level in sport.


Your website says Rachel inspired you to get to the Olympics – could you explain a little further? Rachel was the only British handcyclist in the Beijing Games. I was inspired to


spending time in wild places - I just had to find new ways to do it


try and compete in the London 2012 Paralympics whilst watching her there. Seeing her race inspired me to go for it.


And is Rio on the cards? I hope so. Three years in competitive sport is a long way off, but I am still part of the British Paracycling Team, training hard and competing in World Cup, and then hopefully the World Championships later this year.


How did writing the first book come about, was it your idea? I began writing as a helpful process. In the beginning it was never intended to be a book. Slowly though, people encouraged me to try and turn the pieces of writing I’d done into a book and it went from there.


Did you find the process a cathartic one? Yes, for the first book, definitely. The second book was different – it was more about writing for the sake of enjoying the creative process.


As well as the physicality of the challenges themselves, there seems to be a lot of exploring in terms of therapies and types of healing – anything that has been particularly eye-opening or surprising? I’m very interested in complementary ways of staying healthy and other approaches to healing. ‘Western’ medicine has saved my life and is incredible, but I believe there is a lot of more ancient wisdom relating to health and wellbeing that is also very valuable, particularly in terms


www.activinstinct.com 61


a wheelchair and I definitely felt determined not to let it stop me


Certainly life is never short of challenges when you use


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