Monday, June 4, 2012

Man with no arms biking from Florida to New York

By NBC News and msnbc.com staff

Twenty years after he lost both his arms when he was electrocuted while working on a transformer substation, a Florida man is biking 1,500 miles to New York.

"I just try to focus on being centered on the bike," the man, Hector Picard, told NBC station WECT-TV during a stop Sunday in Wilmington, N.C.

"I do actually hold on with my stump with just my arm, and I tend to get a lot of stress in the right side," Picard said. "But it's not something I can't do."


Picard, who took up triathlons a few years ago, is scheduled to arrive in New York City on Sunday. He's tracking his journey on his website, Don't Stop Living, where he's raising money for the I Will Foundation, which assists people with traumatic injuries.

Picard rides a customized bike with a special gear shift, a drink compartment, modified brakes and other devices that allow him to control it with what's left of one arm.

"I've just met some wonderful people. It's been a great experience, and they mention the fact that I motivate them. But they motivate me as well, so I keep going," Picard said.

Read the full story on wect.com

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