Customer experience City walking bike for adults - Gabriel

Due to a rare muscle disease and permanent nerve damage in his legs, Gabriel now walks with a City walking bike. Read his experience here.

Customer experience Van Raam City walking bike for adults - Gabriel van de Luitgaarden
Customer experience Van Raam City walking bike for adults - Gabriel van de Luitgaarden

Longdistance walking

"I am Gabriel, 62 years old and I live alone in the centre of Amsterdam. I spend half my time in Copenhagen, where my girlfriend lives. I have been completely invalided out since my muscle disease and therefore no longer work.

Before I became ill, my biggest hobby was long-distance walking. I walked to Santiago de Compostella four times. Then you walk about 25 to 35 km a day for several weeks with a backpack."

The walking bike fits easily in my car and also goes with me on planes. The bike is handy and light.

Rare muscle disease makes long walks impossible

"In November 2019, I was diagnosed with a very rare muscle disease. I became completely paralysed as a result. Fortunately, I was able to recover to a large extent and can now walk again. But because of permanent nerve damage in my legs, I cannot walk long distances; after 1 kilometre, I am completely exhausted. At rehabilitation centre Reade, they had a test model of the Van Raam City walking bike for adults on display and after some trial and error, I have had a walking bike since December 2020."

Customer experience City walking bike for adults Van Raam - Gabriel van de Luitgaarden
Gabriel with his City walking bike

The walking bike around the world

"I really like the walking bike. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the City walking bike a 9! I use the bike for walks, alone or with my girlfriend, at home and during holidays. Because of my muscle disease, I can't walk a long distance, but thanks to the walking bike I can still cover some longer distances. On average, I walk about 30 to 40 km a week I think.

I also use the City walking bike for adults in Copenhagen and on holidays such as Italy, New York City and Santiago de Compostella. The walking bike fits easily in my car and also goes with me on planes. The bike is handy and light. I can take it with me in taxis, trains and planes quite well in general.

People's reactions are very nice! Adults sometimes look at you with pity, but children react very positively and want a bike like this when they grow up. I regularly get questions abroad (especially in Copenhagen) about what this bike is and where you can buy one. In New York, the reactions were very positive, I heard a lot of "Awesome man!". I crossed all of Venice in two days on the walking bike. At every little bridge, you do have to lift it. I was also stopped several times by the local police. After all, you are not allowed to cycle in Venice. But after some explanation, they understood and I could just carry on."

Alternative saddle on the City walking bike

"In the beginning, I had a lot of trouble with the saddle. As a result, using the walking bike was painful pretty soon. I quickly changed to a gel saddle and that was slightly better, but that saddle broke down quickly. In the end, I now have a different (Danish) saddle and that works reasonably well. It's also a matter of getting used to it."

Gabriel Van de Luitgaarden - Amsterdam
Type: City walking bike for adults 

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