Cycling is a luxury not enjoyed by all people with motor, cerebral or mental disabilities. Depending on the disability, adapted bicycles can cost between €3,000 and €4,000, a not insignificant cost. To give his son this pleasure, Henri-Claude Poisson has invented an inexpensive and very robust device: the HCP handlebar (named after its creator, you've understood). It makes it possible to combine a bicycle with a wheelchair. Enough to enjoy nice bike rides between father and son!
Henri-Claude and his wife have been a host family for 28 years. At the beginning, they took in Michaël, six and a half years old, suffering from a motor, cerebral and mental handicap. In 2000, the Frenchman, now retired from the building, created the first prototype for his adopted son: "With this system, we allowed Michaël to do like everyone else, to ride a bike, meet people, see different landscapes... and that's just happiness. »
Positioned on the steering sleeve, the HCP handlebar replaces the front of the bike but provides cyclists with all the necessary safety.
Nine years later, Henri-Claude patented his invention and then contacted Hubert Lenormand, director of the establishments of the Manche Promotion Piste association to mass-produce his handlebars at the lowest possible price so that as many disabled people as possible could benefit from them.
This invention is very simple and costs only 390 euros. Quite an economy compared to adapted bikes! Thanks to this father of a family, more than 500 people have already been able to get back to the joy of cycling with their hair in the wind.
