Peterborough, England · Est. 1967
Adaptive endurance cyclist. 59 years old. More than 19 years as a full-time wheelchair user before I started riding in 2023.
I'm David Bainbridge, an adaptive endurance cyclist from Peterborough, England. I have classical Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and spent more than 19 years as a full-time wheelchair user before I started cycling in 2023. I've ridden 6,100+ miles since (Garmin, to date). I founded Wheels for Tenacious, a mixed-ability endurance cycling group. I host Surviving Purely Out of Spite, a dark humour podcast about chronic illness. And I work as a freelance IT consultant specialising in digital accessibility and UX.
19+
Years
As a full-time wheelchair user
6,100+
Miles
Since 2023 (Garmin, to date)
30 to 55
ml/kg/min
VO2 max in under 2 years
Daily
Since age 10
Dislocations and subluxations
About
For most of my adult life, I was told what I couldn't do. By doctors, by specialists, by a body that has dislocated and subluxated every day since I was 10, and by a pharmacological profile that should have killed me.
In 2019, I faced a binary choice: stop all the opiates (fentanyl, methadone, morphine, OxyContin) or don't make it to the following year. The detox took 256 days. I came out the other side with better pain control than any medication had given me.
I have classical Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Severe global dysautonomia including structural baroreflex failure. Complete gastrointestinal dysmotility, which means no oral medications, ever. Chronic pain managed without analgesia since 2019. Narcolepsy. Coronary heart disease.
In under two years at 58, I took my VO2 max from 30 to 55, and my resting blood pressure from 198/141 to 108/61. I've ridden 6,100+ miles since my first year on a bike in 2023 (Garmin, to date), a year I spent rebuilding my legs from scratch.
This is not a motivational statement. Cycling worked where medication didn't, and I spent years reverse-engineering why.
Pain is my operating environment, not my enemy.
Framework
A six-component self-developed framework that replaces the autonomic functions my body can no longer perform reliably. This is not a mindset. It is architecture: systems thinking applied to a broken physiological stack.
What I've built isn't willpower. It is engineering around the gaps: anticipatory cognition replacing absent reflexes, mechanical motion substituting for a circulatory system that doesn't self-regulate, and data replacing symptom signals I simply do not receive.
The full framework is at prostheticphysiology.com.
"Not willpower. Architecture. I do not trust how I feel. I trust the numbers."
VO2 max progressed from 30 to 55 in under two years at age 58. Active self-management across five 24-hour blood pressure monitoring cycles, self-recorded on an Omron HeartGuide, reduced time above symptom threshold by 42% without pharmacological intervention. The framework is the mechanism.
01 · Cognitive
Anticipatory decision-making replacing absent autonomic reflexes. I do not rely on symptoms as warning signals. They either don't arrive or arrive too late to be useful.
02 · Mechanical
Cycling as circulatory and muscle-pump substitute. Stillness is a haemodynamic gamble. Motion is the intervention.
03 · Temporal
Precision scheduling of effort, rest, nutrition, and heat exposure within defined physiological windows. Timing is not a preference; it is a load-bearing component.
04 · Nutritional
Micro-feeding as controlled infusion. GI absorption is unreliable. Fuel is managed to prevent haemodynamic shocks and circulatory collapse mid-effort.
05 · Environmental
Heat, cold, posture, and compression as active regulatory tools. The environment is not a backdrop. It is part of how I regulate blood pressure, circulation, and nerve function.
06 · Data
HRV, heart rate, and trend patterns replace subjective sensation. Internal somatic signals take priority for real-time decisions. Instruments validate and contextualise.
What I Do
Senior IT consultant, digital accessibility specialist, and technical project leader. Former Senior Technical Design Architect at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Enterprise architecture thinking applied to systems, people, and performance.
Overnight audaxes, centuries and multi-day rides. 6,100+ miles since 2023 (Garmin, to date), managed with the Prosthetic Physiology framework and no oral medication.
Founded and lead Wheels for Tenacious, an inclusive mixed-ability endurance cycling initiative. Route planner, challenge architect, website editor, social media lead, and the operational backbone behind every event.
A dark humour podcast about chronic illness, medical disasters, survival, disability, pain, bodily betrayal, and the deeply funny absurdity of staying alive.
MIAS Mountain Bike Leader, Level One (non-technical terrain). Activity First Aid certificate.
Projects & Sites
Coming up: 2027
Four rides for 2027. Where a date says planned or expected, the organiser hasn't confirmed it yet.
Friday 19 March 2027 · Planned · Overnight
A grassroots overnight urban audax round London. 10pm Friday start, finishing on Saturday morning. It's run by an individual organiser, and instead of an entry fee there's a minimum £10 donation to Lewisham Bank of Things.
Sunday 20 June 2027 · Single day
The British Heart Foundation's ride from Clapham Common to Brighton seafront.
BHF London to Brighton Bike Ride details
Saturday 17 July 2027 · Expected · Overnight, then a day ride
The Dunwich Dynamo is the long-running overnight ride from London to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. Southwark Cyclists haven't confirmed the 2027 date yet. The Plus is my own route: I start at King's Cross, ride the Dunwich Dynamo to Dunwich, then carry on to Thetford station.
September 2027 · Multi-day · Wheels for Tenacious
An inclusive coast-to-coast ride: 221 miles from Liverpool to Cardiff over four and a half days, mixed-ability, at one shared pace, in English and Welsh.
Ride Log
| Date | Event | Distance | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2022 | Pulling Together Up Snowdon | 11.7 mi | Wheels for Tenacious | Wheelchair. Rotator cuff torn, mile one. £20,100 raised. |
| Jun 2023 | BHF London to Brighton | 54 mi | Solo | 4h 45m. Self-adapted hybrid bike. 6 months from wheelchair. |
| Sep 2023 | Race the Ship | 197 mi | Wheels for Tenacious | 4.5 days. Great Yarmouth to London. 14-person mixed-ability team. |
| Jan 2024 | Tour de Broads: Winter Series | 54 mi | Solo | Non-stop. Freezing cold. 46 miles into headwind. Mixed roads, gravel, bridleways. |
| Feb 2024 | Ipswich to Peterborough | 105 mi | Solo · Unsupported | First Century. 3,019ft. One stop to replenish water. No prior training. |
| Mar 2024 | Cambridgeshire Classic | 62 mi | Solo | Hip subluxation 20 mi from finish. Pace adjusted. Finished. |
| Apr 2024 | Peterborough to Northampton | 48 mi | Solo · Unsupported | Non-stop. |
| May 2024 | RideLondon | 63.1 mi | Solo | 3h 50m, 15.8 mph avg. 2,500ft. Pre-ride HRV 11ms. 1h 30m sleep. SpO2 92%. Non-stop. System held. |
| Jun 2024 | BHF London to Brighton Plus | 82 mi | Solo | Second year. One stop for water. |
| Jun 2024 | Chase the Sun: South | ~80 mi | DNF | 205 mi attempt. DNF at ~80 mi. Traffic, chronic pain, and GI failure compounded beyond safe threshold. Chose to stop. Not the same as failing. |
| Sep 2024 | Peterborough Greenwheel | 42 mi | Solo · Unsupported | 3h 01m, 14 mph avg. Non-stop. Gravel, road, off-road. |
| Sep 2024 | Peterborough Greenwheel Plus | 55 mi | Solo · Unsupported | 4h 15m, 12.8 mph avg. Non-stop. Gravel, road, off-road. |
| Sep 2024 | Peterborough to Cambridge Plus | 57 mi | Solo · Unsupported | 4h 01m, 14.1 mph avg. Non-stop. |
| Sep 2024 | BHF London to Brighton Off-Road | 65 mi | Solo | Tore rotator cuff in two places 10 days before. Rode anyway. Pure mudfest. |
| Oct 2024 | Barry to Gloucester Quays | 92 mi | Wheels for Tenacious | 3 days. ITV Wales coverage. |
| May 2025 | Lincoln to Peterborough | 102 mi | Solo · Unsupported | Non-stop. 23 mph headwind all day. Felt like dragging a parachute. |
| Jul 2025 | Dunwich Dynamo Plus (Night) | 148.25 mi | Solo · Unsupported | King's Cross to Norwich. 12h 28m. Pre-ride HRV 17ms. |
| Sep 2025 | Cantii Way | 144 mi | Wheels for Tenacious | Knee cartilage tear night before. Pre-ride HRV 17ms. Completed. |
| Mar 2026 | London Lockdown (Night) | 100 mi | Solo · Unsupported | 7h 46m 30s. Non-stop overnight. Critical Mass escort opening. |
| May 2026 | Liverpool to Newtown | 128 mi | Gravel and off-road. 34°C+ heatwave. | |
| May 2026 | Liverpool to Cardiff | 221 mi | Solo · Unsupported | 2 days. Road. Gravel. Towpaths. Bikepacking. |
| Oct 2026 | Return to Snowdon | 9.2 mi | Hike | 4th anniversary of the wheelchair ascent, this time hiking. Up the Ranger Path, down the Llanberis Path. 3,068ft climbed. 10h 30m including the summit stop. The descent was the hardest part on the knees. |
Professional
25+ years as an IT consultant, digital accessibility specialist, and technical project leader. I apply the same systems-thinking discipline I use to manage a broken physiology to the design and delivery of complex technology projects.
Career history is on my LinkedIn profile.
Earlier career
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Enterprise architecture, technical design, and delivery leadership in one of the world's largest professional services firms. Systems thinking at scale.
Ongoing
Independent
Digital accessibility auditing, inclusive UX consulting, and technical project leadership across public and private sector clients.
2022 – Present
Wheels for Tenacious
Challenge architect, route planner, website editor, social media lead, poster designer, and operational backbone for every Wheels for Tenacious event. Enterprise architecture thinking applied to human performance and inclusive sport.
Ongoing
Independent
Self-developed framework for managing complex multi-system physiology in ultra-endurance sport, now being developed into formal thought-leadership content and a published framework.
Podcast
A dark humour podcast about chronic illness, medical disasters, survival, disability, pain, bodily betrayal, and the deeply funny absurdity of staying alive.
Part storytelling. Part psychological documentary. Hosted by me, David Bainbridge. No redemption arc, no uplift.
Some episodes have transcripts. If you need one for an episode that doesn't, email info@thetenaciouscyclist.com.
Contact
Email is the quickest way to reach me: the podcast, riding with Wheels for Tenacious, IT consulting and accessibility work, sponsorship or press.
Based in Peterborough, England. Available for IT consulting and digital accessibility projects, speaking and mentoring on resilience and adaptive performance, Wheels for Tenacious event partnerships and sponsorship, and Prosthetic Physiology thought-leadership collaboration.