Aditya Mehta - Amputee Cyclist

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My friends I am back with a new story which will definitely going to Inspire, encourage and Motivate you. He is not only an amputee, now he is a well known Sportsman " Aditya Mehta Cyclist". He holds the Limca Record for completing 100 km in five and half hours fastest and becoming the first ever Above Knee Amputee to do so. Not only this, Aditya Mehta is a regular at the Asian Championships where he has won two silver medals for India. He has also cycled from Hyderabad to Bangalore and from London to Paris.

Currently, He is en route Kanyakumari from Kashmir on a bicycle, to raise funds for amputees like him. Aditya's this Journey for cause will be going to complete on 13th December 2013.

Let me tell you more about him
He may have lost his right leg at the age of 23, but that has only fuelled Aditya Mehta's determination to ride 3,800 km along the length of the country to raise funds for amputees.

In 2005,  A bus hit Aditya Mehta from behind while he was riding his bike in Hyderabad, and ran over his right leg, which had to be amputated above knee.

In year 2013, the 31-year-old is en route Kanyakumari from Kashmir on a bicycle, to raise funds for amputees like him. He will be in Bangalore on December 7 as part of the Airtel Endurance Ride, and hopes to generate money to help people like him restart their life.

A little tired but still upbeat, Mehta breezily tells us how he reached Ambala well ahead of schedule. "The Army has been kind enough to support my accommodation in the cities I'm visiting," he says, with relief. Mehta began his journey on November 7 in Kashmir, and aspires to reach Kanyakumari after covering 36 cities and 3,800 km in 36 days. He is accompanied by a doctor, a cycle mechanic and prosthetic expert, and members of cycling clubs in each city will ride with him as a show of support.

It wasn't always like this. He admits, "My world came crashing down after the accident. I had been married for just a year when it happened. I was in bed for a month and a half, and would count cobwebs and study the cracks near the fans and lights. I couldn't bear being chained to a bed."

After the accident, he slowly began accepting the harsh reality of his life, and attempted to move on. Less than a month after his discharge, he went to South Africa for an expo, on crutches. Once he began regaining strength, he began exercising his muscles. He would walk for about 8 km every day and did so for 7-8 months. He was also actively involved in the family.

His "second chance in life" came when he saw a poster of the Hyderabad Bicycling Club (HBC) in Hyderabad in 2012. Aditya Mehta said, "I felt terrible when I saw it. That instant, I decided to get on a bicycle again." Wearing a prosthetic, parts of which have been manufactured separately — the artificial knee joint is from the USA, the ankle is from Germany and the lock that keeps the prosthetic intact is from United Kingdom — he began a gritty journey.

"The first day he climbed bicycle last year, he fell off five times, but each fall motivated him more". "He didn't want to take No for an answer. He just had to get on that bike and ride it."He says, became a way of proving that to accomplish anything, one needs only a strong mind and willpower.

There has been no stopping Mehta since. For a year and half, he has been participating in competitive cycling events for amputees and the differently-abled. He holds the Limca Record for completing 100 km in five and half hours fastest (he cycled from Begumpet to Toopran flyover), becoming the first ever knee-above amputee to do so. Mehta is a regular at the Asian Championships where he has won two silver medals for India. He has also cycled from Hyderabad to Bangalore and from London to Paris. He says, "Riding from London to Paris was easier. It was a distance of 500 km and had a 9,000 ft incline, but the roads were great and traffic was orderly. In India, I've been forced off the road several times and have to slow down because of huge trucks." His ride from Jammu to Patni Top was particularly hard, he recollects, as the roads were narrow and had steep cliffs on either side.

"He hate the word 'bechara' — people would look at him and say, 'bechare ka pair nahin hai' (the poor guy doesn't have a leg). He said, he is dead against sympathy — it weakens the soul." Mehta counsels amputees in his spare time, and his advice is to never give up, or give in. He took his own counsel when, five days before the first championship — the Hero Para Asian Cycling Championship in 2013 — his prosthetic accidentally got jammed in the front wheel of his bike. Thrown into the air, he injured his tailbone and was advised by his coach to forsake the competition. "He was so close to representing India, and that would have opened doors to him dream of doing something for others like him. He didn't want to miss the chance," he says. His resolve worked, and Mehta bagged two silvers.

Today, he gets phone calls and emails from across the world asking for guidance. "It's all in the mind," he believes. "My life has become more beautiful since the accident. I am doing things that regular people wouldn't even dream of." Admittedly, none of this would have been possible without family support. Aditya's rock is his father. Aditya Mehta said, "I could not have come this far had my parents and wife not stuck by my side. My father told me I am strong and God will never leave my side. My mother keeps telling me that if I don't slow down, my good leg will also go for a toss! My biggest inspiration is my four-year-old daughter, who calls me Adi. She tells her friends her dad is special because he owns a robot. She calls my prosthetic a robot," he says, laughing.

He inspires others too. When he reached the Hoshiarpur Army Camp a few days ago, jawans had lined up on either side of the entrance, cheering him on. "It's an incredible feeling to experience the love and support of so many people. Everyone supports me wholeheartedly." He recalls an incident in his childhood when he stole his mother's earrings and ran away to Goa because he failed an exam. His best friend's father then told him to stay away from Mehta. "Today, the same man calls me every day and tells me what an inspiration I am."

My Friends if we see other nations like China or smaller countries like Malaysia, sports facilities for them are really good. However, in our nation, there are no sports academies for amputees. Aditya Mehta want to motivate amputees to take up sports and drive the point that they can lead a normal life.  For Aditya, this ride isn’t just a statement to the government but also to other differently-abled people. Having picked up his medals for India at the Hero Para-Cycling Championship held in Delhi on March-2013, he hopes his initiative will prompt the government to take notice of his requests to provide a special academy and other facilities for amputees. Look at Aditya Mehta, we need Strong mind and will power to get up from bed. We can have a Normal life like normal persons and Be Positive.
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