The motorcycle racer Charles White has opened a new series of informative talks on Infosalud, organized by Caja Rural, at the Colegio Universitario de Zamora.
Life turned upside down for you when you had a motorcycle accident and lost a leg.
There are accidents and many problems in life, but we have to move forward, because we only have one existence. I canoe, swim and bike and everyone can outdo themselves. You don’t have to sink but get up every day and push forward because staying at home feeling sorry is not the best thing in life.
The optimism that your words exude, has it been difficult to achieve?
If the truth. I am a very open person, but it really cost me. The first ten years after the accident I was much more confined, I didn’t want to show it… Also, living in a small town like Benavente where everyone knows you. There comes a time when you tell yourself that you are going to live your life and ignore what others think.
Was there a trigger for it to happen?
I really don’t know, but one day a spring snapped in my head. It undoubtedly influenced the fact that I was already a monitor in rides (for people who pay an inscription to ride on a circuit as if they were a pilot but as an amateur), where people did not know me, at first. I even started wearing shorts, even though people noticed.
From your point of view, have motorcycles been your salvation?
Yes and also, paradoxically, they have been what caused my disability. The accident was the result of being 28 years old, of unconsciousness and of not being prepared as one should be when riding a motorcycle. The bike itself has given me strength to face life.
You have competed in the Dunpol BMW Cup.
Last year I was competing in the Handy category, which is for the disabled on tarmac, and in the Dunpol BMW Cup, which was the first time a disabled person had raced.
What has he set for you to open that path?
It really has been amazing, because I ran six races and six podiums that I brought to Benavente. I was going to enjoy it and try to qualify in training to start racing. I was also getting it on international circuits, like Estoril, which I didn’t know, or Portimão, which I had only been to once years ago. Running on circuits you don’t know has even more value because there are colleagues who are there all the time. In addition, economically I was going with used wheels, because a set of wheels costs about 500 euros and there were pilots who premiered one weekend up to three. From the organization they have told me that I am the first novelty that in the 14-year history of the cup of the six races achieves six podiums.
Running like the others…
The only difference was my adapted bike. The motorcycles have gears so that you change with your left leg, but my motorcycle is modified in such a way that the gearbox controls go to the right because it is the foot that I have and with that gear. I also carry the rear brake, which is usually on the right foot, in my left hand and I activate it with my thumb. In adapted sports there is still a lot of ignorance and it is much more expensive because you have to make adaptations to what is already expensive.
How have you done yours?
It has been an invention that we have made according to my needs. You have to find your life a lot, think a lot about the design and you have to find a mechanic to do it for you. To people who start riding a motorcycle and have the same problem as me, I send photos to make the adaptation process easier for them. The modifications to my vehicle were analyzed by the Royal Spanish Motorcycle Federation to allow me to compete. I had in my favor that several pilots knew me for my experience as a track monitor.
Keep it up?
Yes, and this year they have even hired me for more circuits. So far I have three organizers who take me with them.
You know the peninsular circuits, but what projects do you have for this year?
I could try to race the Dunpol BMW Cup again, even though it’s expensive, but I’m going to try to get out of my comfort zone. All my life I have run on asphalt and about four years ago I started to ride hard (in the field) in areas designated for this.
How was the experience?
I like it from there that it encourages me to face new projects on that firm. A colleague encouraged me to try an adventure raid, like Dakar. However, the problem he has is that within disabilities, a person with an amputation is not the same as someone with a hip problem. I have 66%, I would have to be in a wheelchair and walk with crutches, but by exercising I have managed to prevent it from being like that. However, I am 45 years old and I know that when I am 55 or maybe 60 I will have to use them because the body is sore, but while I can, of course, I will try to run hard.
Where do you want to run?
I am going to try to do it in Extremadura in April. In March they do a series of tests and if I like it and I can afford it, I’ll take the van and… try different things! I would like to run the Baja Aragón and it is adapted, although we all run at the same time. What happens is that not many people with disabilities run on motorcycles. Those who have it ride in a buggy, which is physically much better. It’s three days and I’ll see if I finish the first day, which is 200 kilometers because physically it’s not just the amputation…
Do you feel like an example of improvement?
I don’t see myself as such, but I understand that there are people who don’t know me and who hear about me or know about the projects I’m embarking on who are surprised because a person with only one leg rides a motorcycle. Thanks to these projects and my talks, there are people who notice me and encourage them to get up wanting to do things. I am very glad that thanks to my example there are people who are happier, which is why I collaborate with all the people and groups that ask me for collaboration.
