Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be in a wheelchair?  

Take a minute to think about the everyday tasks that pose a real challenge to people in a wheelchair…

 Getting up hills, grabbing a morning coffee and negotiating the weekly groceries – every day throws up new challenges.

 

Ride a Day in My Wheels is an annual event that helps to raise awareness of the daily challenges faced by people in a wheelchair. Currently, in its 9th year, the event is a fun way to engage the community, celebrate and raise awareness for International Day of People with Disability.

 

Ride a Day in My Wheels was created by Oliver House, a member of Studio ARTES, who wanted for people to understand the challenges that he faces daily.

The day entails members within the community strapping into a wheelchair and fulfilling a list of physical and mental tasks, under a time limit!

Not only does this event help people to see things from a different perspective, it also raises much-needed funds for Studio ARTES.

The 2019 event was held on Friday 6th December, with our very own Branch Manager – Dean Castell participating.

 

The challenge was set:

  • Riders had to successfully overcome three hard surface obstacles in the wheelchair.
  • They then had to then walk with a full cup of water around obstacles and not spill any liquid – wearing glasses that distort vision.
  • Then wearing noise-cancelling earphones, they needed to lip-read what was being said.
  • They needed to ride a wheelchair as far as they could around the Hornsby fountain in one minute.
  • Order a coffee from a local café without talking.
  • Finally, they had to paint their score from the above tasks using only a paintbrush attached to a headpiece.

This wasn’t Deans first experience in the Ride a Day in My Wheels event, but the new vision distorting glasses were a real challenge.

Thanks for being such a great sport Dean and for supporting such a worthwhile cause.

 

You can find out more about Ride a Day in My Wheels and watch Oliver’s promo video here:

https://www.studioartes.org.au/event/ride-a-day-in-my-wheels/