Twenty-five years ago Jeremy Long, then 40, crashed into the back of a parked truck at high speed on a bicycle. The accident left him a paraplegic.
He virtually got straight back on the bike – actually a hand cycle – and next month he returns to Cambodia where in 2012 he cycled 37km with Cycle Power, an initiative of Disability Sports and Recreation.
The project raised money to donate 22 wheelchairs to empower women with a disability in Cambodia and pilot a women’s wheelchair basketball program.
“I was lucky with my accident – I was alive, I didn’t break my neck and didn’t smash up my brain,” he said. “I just have no feeling from the nipples down.”
Jeremy had been a construction project manager and keen triathlete. With a young family of four, and despite many adjustments he had to make, he was determined to continue working hard.
He started his own business as a building industry consultant, which he still runs today. Jeremy has also been an elite wheelchair tennis player, representing Australia at the Asian Games, and bikes continue to be part of his life.
“After leaving hospital I bought a hand cycle to go riding with my children,” he said. “I had to give up tennis five years ago, and when a friend heard about the 2012 ride in Cambodia he told me I’d never be able to do it. “I took that as a challenge and it was an amazing experience. You see disabled women in a country like Cambodia and they’re treated worse than second-class citizens.
“They had nothing like our welfare or services, yet they’re happy.”
Next month’s ride is 500km from Siem Reap to Battambang where the wheelchair basketball program was established in 2012. Then it’s on to Phnom Penh and ultimately Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
Jeremy, the second-eldest rider at 65, is under no illusions about the challenge ahead. “It will be hot and a bit monsoonal. The roads are in disrepair – there are huge potholes two or three metres wide and six or eight inches deep filled with water.
“You have to attack them; if you get stuck in one, you have to be pushed out.
“On our last day we are visiting Long Tan for the 50th anniversary of the battle. That will bring a whole lot of different emotions.”
A number of cyclists with disabilities will be participating, including two female paralympian wheelchair basketball medallists. Like everyone involved, Jeremy is raising money and has appreciated the help from some “extraordinarily generous” clients in raising more than $13,000.
To donate to the campaign, www.givematcher.com.au/ fundraisers/jeremy-long
For information about the Cycle Power program, www.dsr.org.au and click on the Sport and Recreation tab.