Augsburg seems to have more than the usual number of wheelchairs, which we suspect is because the town is very wheelchair-friendly.
As we were sitting drinking coffee by the smoothly-paved, low-kerbed bus station this morning a woman trundled up in a wheelchair, clipped a pair of handlebars onto it and sped off with her chair transformed into a handbike, pausing only to have a good gossip with one of her neighbours which is how I got the photo.
Some poking around on Mr Google has given me this picture of the add-on bit, it’s not quite accurate because hers was a proper hand bike, but it gives you a feeling for how it works.It reminds us that on a walk back in the UK a couple of months ago we got talking to a woman whose husband was setting up the firm Centaur Robotics with the aim of reinventing the wheelchair using robotics, Segway-style technology, and who knows what else. You can see more here: https://centaurrobotics.com.
So today’s nomination for the #kindnessandingenuity award is gadgets which really improve people’s mobility.
PS the dog was really cool too. At one point our heroine dropped the lead and he doubled back, picked it up and presented it back to her. Raising an interesting question: what was the lead really for?