Bike is stolen from young paracyclist
A YOUNG paracyclist with ambitions to represent his country at the 2020 Paralympics was dealt a blow with the theft of his bike immediately ahead of his very first track competition.
Fin Graham, who was born with two club feet and has no calf muscle on his right leg, has not let his disability get in the way of his passion for cycling.
The 17-year-old, of Strathpeffer, competed in UK track championships at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester last weekend. But while he was inside the velodrome being assessed for the races, opportunist thieves used bolt cutters to steal his road bike, worth about £1500, from the roof rack of the family car.
"I had to do a double take when we came out," said Fin who works at the Go Outdoors store in Inverness. "But I knew straight away it had been taken."
The road bike which he uses on rollers at the trackside is crucial for warm-up preparations but he also needs it for a series of forthcoming road races across the UK. Also stolen were special sensors for monitoring his performance which were attached to the bike.
Fortunately, his £2000 track bike, worth was still inside the car but as his mother was on the phone to the police to report the theft, they became aware of two suspicious-looking men looking into the car and chased them away.
Despite the theft, Fin – the only Scottish paracyclist at the event – notched up personal best times in his three races as he was cheered on by his parents Andrew and Dee Graham, and brother, Rory (15) .
"I didn’t think too much about it on the day of the races," said Fin who also met Paralympian Jody Cundy.
"I didn’t want to let it spoil what was a really amazing experience."
The family later posted details of the bike in local cycle shops and social media but so far there is no sign of it.
He remains, positive, however.
"My goal is to get to the Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020," he said.
Fin was 13 weeks old when he had surgery on both legs but due to the lack of muscle, he will always have to wear a splint on his right leg.
But his condition has never deterred him from participating in sports.
"He was always last in the running races at school but he always laughed and smiled," recalled Mrs Graham, a children’s nurse at Raigmore Hospital.
"He has always been very positive and relaxed about his condition. "
In recent years, he has taken cycling seriously and even done the Strathpuffer, the gruelling 24-hour mountain bike challenge. But with no mountain biking in paracycling he turned to new disciplines.
Last year’s Paralympics in Rio spurred him on and he was referred to Manchester-based GB paracyclist coach Steve Cronshaw who is monitoring his progress.
Such his commitment, the youngster – who earns just £4 an hour as a part-time retail assistant – travels to the Glasgow Velodrome one day a week as there are no facilities in the Highlands. It involves getting a train from Inverness at 6.55am and getting back about 9.30pm. On other occasions, his parents drive him to the three-hour training sessions, resulting in thousands of miles being notched up on the family car.
Fin is supported by his employers in accommodating his training schedule as well as by Mike Goodwill, owner of OrangeFox Bikes of Muir of Ord. A local charity gave a £500 donation for which the family is grateful.
But given the on-going expense of training and future races which will incur further travel and accommodation expenses, the family is seeking sponsorship to enable him to pursue his ambition.
"We have not really totted it up," Mrs Graham said. "I think we would find it too overwhelming."
