At 9:30 in the evening, when there was finally a bit of a cool breeze, Jiang Honghai, 37, stopped his bike and took off his helmet — his forehead was already covered in sweat.
An hour and a half earlier, he had set off from his home in the city and pedaled his bicycle toward Andi. The 20-kilometer journey included an uphill stretch. Like other cyclists, he maintained a speed of 40 kilometers per hour, sometimes faster.
This summer, Jiang Honghai swapped out his long pants for athletic shorts. Were it not for the bright nighttime lights, his unusual left foot would not have been so easily noticed. Under the light, the prosthetic limb was clearly visible — it’s hard to imagine that he pedaled the full 40 kilometers using just the strength of one leg.
Jiang Honghai’s mother told us that her son has kept it up for four years. Whenever the weather is good, he rides to Andi, and sometimes even to Beishan.
His mother still remembers how, before he turned 19, her son was a sport-loving teenager. That car accident cost him his left leg, and his arm was almost lost as well. Speaking of the past, tears welled up in the mother’s eyes: “Actually, as long as he’s in a good mindset, we’re fine too. If he’s happy, we’re happy!”
His father is a bit more worried: “It’s still different (from ordinary people), and every time he goes out, we can’t help but feel anxious.” The father said that his son has endured a lot in order to ride: “Over the years, he’s had several bumps and bruises, and once, he even broke his right arm.”
But Jiang Honghai’s optimism has influenced his family’s attitude.
In recent years, Jiang Honghai has found work in Jinhua at a rehabilitation center, where he makes prosthetic limbs and helps patients with rehabilitation training.
Jiang Honghai has always hoped to inspire others who have had unfortunate experiences similar to his: “I also want them to ride bikes and feel more uplifted, but very few end up joining.”
“Actually, cycling with a prosthetic leg can still occasionally cause the previously injured leg to chafe and break the skin,” he said. People with prosthetic limbs need to control their weight in order to reduce joint pressure. So he can’t give up exercising.
Jiang Honghai is already a father to a 6-year-old girl. He says that if conditions allow, aside from cycling, he’d really like to learn how to swim.