Off Road with BBC Top Gear
02/02/2012 
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Off Road Wheelchair
Mybility all terrain wheelchairs has just spent a few days with BBC Top Gear filming in sunny South Wales. Well O.K it was not really sunny, it was cold windy and damp. But fantastic never the less, beautiful views and ruggedly serene.
Thanks to Nick Dalton the producer for getting things sorted.
I have to admit the whole filming process is an interesting one to watch. It is intense, involves lots of personnel, and is an exercise in chaotic harmony. Well maybe less of the harmony, but definitely a well oiled labour intensive Hydra.
I have to thank Nick Dalton for the invite to come and play. The Top Gear teams’s idea seemed simple, build their own offroad wheelchairs or scooters and pit them against 3 models available on the market for some offroad antics. 3 army Vets were asked to try the chairs then everyone was pointed towards the top of the hill.
In a wheelchair a great deal of proficiency is required, think of it as giving someone a bicycle for the first time and after an hour telling them to ride down a mountain side. I have to admit given this, the lads adapted and excelled, in very difficult terrain.
The Mybility chair is a little more difficult to excel in than simply point and shoot, having said that it is relatively forgiving, but only relatively.
On the first day we found ourselves being driven around up some of the slopes in Range Rovers, and I being a novice 4×4 car passenger I thought this thing won’t get up here, but that was just my mistake as it tackled the slopes fairly easily. I made a mental note to pay more attention while watching Top Gear! The lack of grip, with road tyres did defeat the Land Rovers, I was sort of pleased, as the Sliding hopelessly sideways was disconcerting. It was probably not being in control that bothered me more. Both vehicles turned back, it was getting dark by this time. I just realised that this would be a difficult test for the Mybility chair and a novice user, sometimes you just have to have faith.
I found myself getting really bored the day of the filming, just hanging around half way up on the slopes. It seemed to be a much better idea to start my own assent, I have a tediously low boredom threshold and started along the heavily sodden ground. Unusually for Wales it had rained all night, but that’s life. My mind melding experiments with the sheep had not been worth while, perhaps the sheep in Wales are just as bored as I was.
During my meandering I came across a backup ‘rescue’ 4×4 buried up to its axles in a clay bog area, heavily rutted after some very heavy vehicle traffic. I looked but I could see no sign of the tanks responsible. This area was very difficult to traverse, my dinky wheelchair spans 70cm, the ruts were around 25cm deep and there was no easy way to cross.
I finally had to tac my way down and along a very steep double cambered slope. This was no easy proposition, but luckily Andrew the rescue vehicle driver stood at my side and leaned into the chair.
I decided to kick myself, but couldn’t so got Andrew to kick my chair, l realised that I’d been using the wrong chair program. Mine is usually set up for quick burst of power rather than long drags of constant hill climbing. I noticed this the day before, but it did not sink into my vacant brain. Going back down to get my computer, was too much of a pain so I meandered my way along with plenty of rest periods. Andrew got back to his task of winching himself out.
After around 10 mins I was clear of the worst of the terrain. At this time I decided that I would have to attach a winch to my chair with a grappler that could be launched by crossbow to extricate myself from future events.
It’s on my long list of doohickeys to build.
While I was gathering my thought, (yes just the one) I saw the most wonderful contraption. I think it was an ATV can’t remember the brand name. It powered over, up and down the tank ruts, while gliding and slipping across the surface of the doubled cambered slope. The driver seemed to have it in a constant gliding wheel spin. I was in awe, I definitely want one of those although I would have to bolt myself down to it, as I’ve no lower strength or balance. I would just be plopped out. I confirmed this when I flagged the driver down and asked him to take me for a spin. Tremendous fun though. It was then I wondered if there was any law against having astrology powered wheelchair and using it at Tesco’s?
I spent the rest of the time wondering around, and designing, in my head, a new style off road wheelchair based on my frame, for some serious off road wheelchair action. It’s amazing what I can think up while I’m bored. It’s going to be built in the next 6 months, but it’s already working in my head. But that is no guarantee.
The piece is being aired some time in Feb, I can’t wait to see what it comes out like. I saw a little of the presenters during the filming. Jeremy Clarkson was kicking his chair, James May wasn’t doing much in his chair, and Richard Hammond was just plain cheating in his ‘wheelchair’.
Off Road Wheelchair
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