double amputee, bike rider.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Illinois Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth inspired the lunch crowd at the National Women’s Bicycling Forum today. Rep. Duckworth isn’t well-known in the bicycle advocacy world, but as a double amputee and Iraq war veteran who also enjoys riding a hand cycle, no one in this room will soon forget her story.
Rep. Duckworth, a helicopter pilot in the Iraq War who suffered major wounds in combat, shared with the crowd that bicycling is her “avenue forward.” When you’re out pumping pedals on the bike, she said, “You feel powerful, you feel strong, you feel in command of something again.” From someone who lost both of her legs and suffered damage to one of her arms, those words are a testament to bicycling.
With her $5,000 hand cycle she received from the Veteran’s Administration, Duckworth said she’s experienced the freedom and shared experience that many of us take for granted. Bicycling, she said, is a great “leveler.”
