War hero Dave Watson is gearing up for a revolution on three wheels.
Guarsdman Dave, 25, of Wordsworth Place, Walton-le-Dale, who lost both legs and an arm in a bomb blast in Afghanistan, has vowed to step up his training to fulfil his dream of competing the 2016 Paralympic Games.
To improve his fitness Dave is to receive funding to purchase a specially adapted three-wheeled bicycle which he will propel with his left arm.
Dave, who recently carried the Olympic Torch and was selected as a Paralympic Flame Ambassador, had his first taste of arm-powered cycling during a trip to New York.
He said: “I have got another bike ride in October around London, and some of the Americans who I cycled with in New York, are coming to ride with us.
“I am going to be getting a bike myself with funding from a couple of charities, they cost about £4,000.”
Dave said he is hoping to use the cycling to build up his fitness to get in shape for a 2016 Paralympics bid.
After watching the London Games he is planning to practice a number of sports before deciding which disciplines he will be focusing upon.
He said: “I am going to try shooting and archery as well, I use my teeth when I am doing archery.
“But I would say I’d have a chance of getting a medal in the discus. “I am just going to get on with it and get a trainer.”
Meanwhile Dave is also settling into his new home in Walton-le-Dale, which has been extended with his own separate wing as well as learning to drive.
He said: “It is going well, it won’t take me long before I pass.
“It will be a big boost for me to pass, it will improve my independence.”
In August Dave became the face of the Paralympic Games when he was selected to carry the Paralympic Flame.
He travelled to London on Friday August 24 for a ceremony on Trafalgar Square, before marching with in on the Flag Market in Preston, as part of the Guild’s Second Proclamation.
Later in the day he carried the flame to Fulwood Barracks as part of the official opening of the official opening of the Preston Military Show.
On June 22 he carried the Olympic Torch in Lancaster which he described as one of the ‘proudest moments of his life’.
Comments