SIA bike ride 2026: nervous wreck to ride hero
JMW took part in the Spinal Injuries Association bike ride 2026. Jamie Rhind, client support manager, shares his experience of taking part and the challenges faced cycling with a spinal cord injury.
Spinal Injuries Association bike ride 2026
It’s 8am and I’m sitting in the courtyard of a French hotel waiting to set off on a 300km bike ride across Southern France. I’ve barely slept, struggled to eat anything of substance and I’m asking myself the question ‘Why am I putting myself through this?’
The bike ride is in aid of the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), a national charity supporting people affected by spinal cord injury (SCI). Having benefitted from the charity’s support following my own SCI in 1998 (I broke my neck in a diving accident that left me paralysed from the chest down with limited movement in my arms and hands, I was just 19) and worked with them for over a decade until 2021, I’ve seen how life-changing the charity’s support can be.
Embracing the unfamiliar
SIA’s vision of a fulfilled life following SCI will mean different things to different people, but for me it involves getting out of my comfort zone and challenging myself with new experiences. Whether it’s an age thing (I’m staring down the barrel of 50), a SCI thing (I’ve lived with injury for 28 years), or a combination of the two, I’ve found it increasingly difficult in recent years to get out of my comfort zone, feel comfortable in feeling uncomfortably nervous, and embrace a fear of the unknown.
The focus has become increasingly on what could go wrong, the pitfalls of trying something new, rather than on the positive benefits of a new activity or experience. For the bike ride there was the obvious challenge of cycling vast distances on a hand bike.
Managing the what ifs
Prior to training for this event, I’d never cycled more than 20km in one go and this event required me to cycle more than 5 times that distance on the first day alone! And then do something similar for 2 consecutive days after that? Daunting, to say the least. But whilst the herculean effort of handcycling hundreds of miles was a concern, the bigger concern revolved around the management of my spinal cord injury.
What if I have a bowel accident? (I ended up having two) What if I can’t find an accessible toilet? What if the tap on my leg bag opens when I’m getting on/off my bike and I wee in my shoe? What if I get a red mark on my bum from sitting in one position for so long? What if the beds in the hotels are too high/low for me to transfer on/off? What if I can’t manage to have a shower? What if I can manage to have a shower but then struggle to transfer back onto the bed afterwards? (I got stuck between my wheelchair and the bed late one night).
The challenge
It’s easy for outsiders to see this bike ride challenge for what it is - a 3-day, 300km bike ride from Toulouse to Bordeaux, but for someone with a SCI it’s so much more. It’s managing your condition alongside it.
But I want to live a rich, varied life, full of different experiences. As client support manager at JMW, I want to show the clients I work with that challenging yourself is a good thing. That risking failure demonstrates that you’re challenging yourself. That nerves show that what you’re doing is important and means something to you.
Preparing for the 'challenges'
With the help of the wonderful team at SIA I did my research. I found out how the cycling is interspersed with regular breaks, making it seem more manageable. I found out the bed heights in the hotels and reassured myself that I could manage. I worked out a bowel management routine that minimised the chances of accidents (never an exact science and didn’t quite go to plan!).
With the help of my two amazing colleagues Cathy Leech and Rachel Botterill (veterans of countless SIA rides between them – Cathy having participated in every one!), I found inspiration and solidarity. Of course, all of this doesn’t irradicate all nerves and sense of trepidation, but it did allow me to travel with a degree of confidence.
The 300km bike ride
So, I’m sat in the courtyard of a French hotel, surrounded by 37 other cyclists, three of them affected by SCI also, and all with their own hopes and fears of what lies ahead over the next three days. We’re all decked out in the same tricolour cycling jerseys (adorned with the JMW logo on front and back as principal sponsor) and you can feel the sense of nervous excitement.
Setting off on the busy streets of Toulouse, it isn’t long before we’re transported into the glorious French countryside and the cycle paths hugging the Canal du Midi. What follows is three incredible days of cycling and wonderful comradery. It doesn’t come without its challenges (as alluded to above!) and the cycling is hard work with plenty of sore muscles and stiff joints.
There are points when I don’t think I’m going to make it to the end. But it’s 100% worth it for the experience. It’s 100% worth it for the pinch-me moments of cycling through stunning French vineyards, picturesque French villages, and doing so with an amazing group of incredibly supportive people who I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know better.
"Why am I doing this?"
As we arrive into Bordeaux on day three, 300km behind us and with the song that my wife and I danced to first at our wedding blasting from the speaker in the back pocket of the cyclist in front of me (an amazing twist of fate on the Spotify playlist that will live with me forever – thank you Billy!), and the tears rolling down my face, I’m able to answer the question I asked myself on that chilly morning in Toulouse a mere three days ago - I’m putting myself through this because I’m desperate to ensure I squeeze everything out of the gift that is life and maximize my experiences whilst I’m here.
I can’t change the past, my SCI will always play a significant role in my life. But one thing that came out of my SCI was an appreciation for how precious and important life is, and despite the challenges people like myself deal with every day in relation to SCI, I’m desperate not to let that stop me.
From nervous wreck to ride hero
The ride ends with a presentation ceremony where all participants vote for their ‘Ride Hero’, someone who has stood out in their attitude and achievement over the course of the ride. Following some amazing testimony from my fellow SCI-cyclists, alongside news that we’ve raised almost £100,000 for SIA, I was honoured to be presented with the ‘Ride Hero’ beret. It was the icing on the cake of an incredible few days that I will look back of with great fondness and pride.
Pride in the achievement of cycling 300km in three days, pride in managing my SCI alongside it, and pride in getting out of my comfort zone and signing up to do it in the first place. Life can be so rewarding when we push ourselves, I started a nervous wreck but ended a ride hero!!
If you or a loved one have experienced a spinal cord injury the Spinal Injuries Association can offer support and help you find the right services. If your injury has been caused by substandard medical care, our expert team at JMW can offer support. Get in touch by calling 0345 872 6666 or use our online enquiry form to request a call back.
