Category: RTSIC Case Study

Team Bruise and The Bike Experience

A slightly damp and overcast Monday on a stretch of windswept tarmac may not sound like the ideal way to start your week, but for one group of bikers it was a dream come true that many may have thought impossible. The Bike Experience is a charity that teaches and advises motorcyclists who have been disabled how they can ride again. Founded by Talan Skeels-Piggins in 2011 the charity is unique in its goals of assisting disabled bikers back onto two wheels.

Students from the Innovation Design Engineering course (a double masters course run in partnership between Imperial College and the RCA) were in attendance yesterday to demonstrate the Rio Tinto Sports Innovation Challenge project, the Bruise suit.

World Para-Cycling Championships Underway

The World Para-Cycling Championships are underway in Mexico and Sarah Storey has won Team GB’s first medal, getting Bronze in the C5 500m time trial.  Storey only returned to the sport in December following the birth of her daughter Louisa last June. As ever there are high hopes for the Team GB cyclists, an 11 strong team which features tandem cycling pairing of Sophie Thornhill and pilot Rachel James making their major international debut and Jody Cundy who will be hoping to put behind him the false start nightmare he had in London 2012.

We are also looking forward to see Jon-Allan Butterworth perform in Mexico.

Action commences in Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics

While we are bracing ourselves for another onslaught of wind and rain, Team GB’s Winter Olympic hopefuls in the sub-tropical climate of Sochi are gearing up for action as the first events have begun today.

First news from Sochi is that GB’s Jamie Nicholls has qualified for the Slopestyle (snowboarding) finals on Saturday and his team mate Billy Morgan has a second chance to make the finals through the semi-finals on Saturday.

Keeping the winter sports theme, check out this great cartoon from George Washington University. It’s a really nice way of demonstrating the great work that goes on within the Bioengineering Sector and trying to attract the next generation of young Bioengineers.

GB Paralympic Sailors waiting patiently for the wind in Miami

The 3rd round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup are underway in Miami and there are high hopes for the British Adaptive Sailors if the wind finally picks up to enable them to race. There are three disabled categories in the Sailing World Cup, 2.4mR, SKUD 18 and SONAR.

Racing for GB in the 2.4mR category are Megan Pascoe (currently ranked number 1 in the world) and Helena Lucas MBE (the 1st British Sailor ever to win Paralympic Gold). In the SKUD 18 category is the pairing of Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (Bronze medal winners at London 2012 and winners of 4 World Championship titles).