I’m still unsure about the claimed ten mile range of my iM.4 Elite wheelchair. It’s quite an ambiguous claim. If they said it lasts for six hours, then one would know for definite how long it will last. They can’t say that though because you will likely travel on differing terrains, you’ll go up and down hill, you’ll go over bumps, you’ll stop and start repeatedly. I could go on, but you get the point.
So, as we are having uncharacteristically great weather at the moment and like I said in a previous post "I don't like to drive in the rain." As it's not likely to rain at the moment I've arranged to go and see my friend Helen Lawson who runs her business from Beaconside Business Village. I have got an appointment to see her in her proffesion as a psychic/healer/reiki master at the end of the month, but it might be raining then. Sorry, I'll rephrase. It's England so it WILL be raining then. According to the AA route planner it's 3.2 miles away, which is ten minutes in a car. So 3.2 miles there and back is 6.4 miles. I'm sure I will ride around a bit when I get there, and it is quite a large area - Beaconside Business Village is what was Stafford University - and I will have to travel a very small distance to get to the starting point. So let's call it a 7 mile round trip. That should leave me 3 miles of juice in the battery.
Plenty?
Hmm, I was doubtful. I wasn't sure if I would make it back home. So, wearing a cap for sun protection from that orange thing in the sky, a long sleeve top because I'm too lazy to put sun screen on, a bottle of water and Mark Bates insurance on speed dial (as I get roadside recovery with my insurance). I set off, knowing I may well fail. Don't try this at home unless you're a super brave boy like me.
Not all heroes wear capes 💪
See what I did there? I've split the video into two parts, thus upping the anxiety and maintaining your interest. Unless of course:
You really couldn't care less
You're really annoyed you've just wasted five and a half minutes of your life watching this drivel
You were only vaguely interested. You were just hoping to see me stranded at the side of the road, you're not interested enough to watch a second video
This first part of the journey was completed in about an hour and forty minutes. I could have gone there and back ten times in a car. I don't recommennd this mode of transport over the auto-mobile. As an alternative to it, the iM.4 Elite was perfectly comfortable in that it could handle the mild terrain it had to deal with. You do have to keep your wits about you as the angle of the ground can dictate the direction of the chair, and sometimes you're in terrain where the back wheels just spin rather than change your direction. As I've said previously, the weight of this chair is the sweetspot. 26kg is still quite light, but still heavy enough for acceptable use while still light enough to fold up and store in the boot of the car. It really does give me a level of independence as I can catch any taxi and most busses or trains. Apparantly it's airline friendly, although I'm yet to test that. I can't comment on the comfort of the cushion as I replaced the thin memory foam cushion it comes with for a thick gel cushion. For the brief time I sat on it, my right leg started to go numb, but that could well just be me.
Helen took me on a quick tour on the way upto the Emerald Lounge. You can see that everywhere is flat with thin pile carpet, wide corridors, wide doors I can easily get my wheelchair through. Disabled toilets on each level. Lift access and (the all important feature), a fully accessible lounge. It also has a cafe, gym, live events area and conference/exhibition areas.
The eagle eared amongst you will notice that Helen has an eerily similar voice to the person that read a section of my book - Brain Tumours, John Bonham and Fat Pigeons - Available now on Amazon. Anyway, back to the action. After a non-alcoholic Koppaberg (I'm not a very good driver sober! Imagine if I had some alcohol in my system.) I started the drive back.
We pick up the action when I am about a mile and a half from home. I realisee what was quite a dull video before is only going to get duller. However we rejoin the action as the wheelchair is bleeping at me. Constantly. Freaking bleeping! Who wouldn't wanna see that?It's like an annoying child repeatedly poking you in the side and tellling you the same thing, over and over and over again.
Will I make it? I know, I know. This. Is. EXCITING!
