A teenage BMX rider has learned to perform a series of jaw-dropping stunts despite having just one ARM – by tying his hoodie to a handlebar.
Jack Dumper, 18, ties the sleeve of his hoodie to his handlebars and uses his shoulder and upper back to turn the wheels of his bike.
The unique method enables the youngster, who was born with no lower left arm due to natural causes, to jump, grind, spin and speed up ramps with ease.
Jack, of Ashton Vale, Bristol, has only been riding for two years but says he’s already better than his pals – because he trains for a whopping 60 HOURS a week.
He said: “I have always worked out ways of doing things and adapting – I’ve never struggled to do anything because I only have one arm.
“I love extreme sports and I have done free running, snowboarding and rock climbing among other things in the past.
“A couple of years ago I decided to buy a bike and from then on I started riding it at the park near my house.
“I have always had natural balance while riding a bike and I have quite a lot of control using my sleeve.
“I pull my shoulder and back muscles on the sleeve and it moves the bars.
“I was at a very basic level for the first six to eight months and then I started progressing more.
“In the last few months I have suddenly started getting more and more good at it.
“Now I can do spins and 360s, grinds and loads of other tricks.
“I have fallen off a lot of times but it hasn’t put me off at all.
“If I break something it just means I have to stop riding for a couple of months.”
Jack, who is sponsored by Crucial BMX shop, added that he hopes to become a professional BMX rider one day – and thinks he’s in with a shot.
“I spend so much time riding – it’s literally my life,” said the teenager, who works part-time at Tesco and plans to go to university to study product design.
“If I’m working I’ll go and ride for three or four hours before work and if I’m not at work I can spend the whole day there – up to 12 hours.
“I’d say I probably spend at least 60 hours riding every week. I’m completely addicted.
“I just really enjoy being able to ride and flow around the skate park.
“If one day I could become a professional rider that would be great. It’s one of my aims.
“At the moment I’m just going to see where my limit of riding is, because so far I haven’t reached it.
“I want to keep going and getting better until I can’t go any more.”
