Stroke survivor riding around Australia even after he got hit by car

Tommy Quick (29) was 12 when he suffered a stroke and his life changed forever. What became clear to him was that this wasn’t where his life stopped. Instead, that’s where it began!

Last year he started his epic challenge of cycling 9 000 km / 5 600 miles to the four most extreme points of mainland Australia on a recumbent trike from Greenspeed. His main aim was to promote social inclusion and increase stroke awareness while raising money to help stroke survivors and improve stroke victim services. Unfornatenatully, just about 3000 km / 1850 miles into the journey, he was hit by a reckless car driver, had several severe injuries, and had to learn to walk again. For the second time in his life. That was in November 2021, and right now, one year after the accident, he is back on the trike, continuing his epic ride. Because the Greenspeed trike was wrecked, we offered Tommy a brand new AZUB TRIcon 26 electric trike with a Shimano Steps motor, so he has a comfortable vehicle to continue his adventure.

We also asked Tommy few questions:

So where are you in your journey?
I had ridden from the most extreme western point of Western Australia (Steep Point) to near a small town, Greenock, South Australia ( 60 km / 37 miles from Adelaide) when I was hit by a car on 17 November 2021. Just over 1 year later, on 4 December 2022, I have started to ride from my home in Ascot Vale, Victoria ( a suburb of Melbourne) to Wilsons Promontory, the most southern point of mainland Australia. This means that there is a gap from where I was injured to our home, which we intend to fill as the last leg of the full journey to the4points.

How long do you plan to stay on the road?
This short section from Melb to Wilsons Promotontory is about 300 km / 186 milesand will take 5-6 days. Then we will wait until mid-March, 2023 to start riding north from Melbourne towards Cape Byron and then, Cape York so that we arrive up north in June/July when the weather is dryer.

Then, we will drive back down to near Greenock, SA to ride the final link back to Melbourne in September/October 2023. The route will deviate so that I can stay on good secondary, rather than busy main highways.

How many kilometers do you plan to ride?
I have about 5 500 km / 3 417 miles to complete the ride. On a daily basis I was averaging 55 km / 34 miles, which would be ideal.

Who will be in your support team?
Definitely my parents and anyone who would want to join. One of the main reasons for the ride is to promote social inclusion by encouraging others to ride with me. Our good friend David Jones, who had planned to ride all the way from the west last year but, could not join me at all because of COVID restrictions, will ride this short leg and then wants to ride from Townsville to Cape York next year, too! As well as the ride from SA to Melbourne. It appears that 2 others will ride to The Promontory, too.

What kind of adjustments did you need to make to the trike?
I use a mountain bike cleate on my left foot and a road bike cleate on my right foot to hold my right foot in place. We’ve added a camel bak, pannier and a 3m / 10′ extendable GoPro stick. The main issue to tackle has been trying to protect my right calf from rubbing on the chain, which is similar to an old issue I had on the previous trike. I find it hard to make my right knee to keep in line with my ankle and hip. Our solution is to fit a vertical wooden rod neatly into the additional mount AZUB supplied that screws into the top of the right steering pivot with an elastic rubber band looped round it and round my leg above the knee. This pulls the knee away from the centre and there is no further damage to my calf.

Can you compare the Greenspeed with AZUB already?
NUMBER ONE – the suspension did not exist on the Greenspeed and it makes a much smoother ride which has the added benefit of not having to hitch my backside back up the seat nearly as often while riding. Neat braking system and a much more convenient hand brake. The gear shift is smoother and less hassle. It looks great and rides well compared to the Greenspeed, which was very basic.