Hello everyone, my name is Luca.

I'm a 29-year-old guy suffering from cerebral palsy. As a consequence, walking is quite painful for me. Some days I wake up with a 5/10 on my pain scale, which only increases as I go about my day.

As such, my mobility has always been quite limited. If I decided to exert myself, it was always a conscious choice. A choice to do something, even though I knew I'd suffer more intense pain because of it later.

Three years ago, I discovered adult trikes and became curious about them.

I lack the balance to ride a regular bike, but I was able to test a trike and buy an adult trike second-hand two years ago - that's the one you can see in the cover photo.

The experience was life-changing.

The best comparison I can give you is this: Switching from walking to the trike was like switching from walking to swimming. The resistance? Gone. The pain? Gone! The mobility? Suddenly there!

No longer did I dread shopping tours; I looked forward to them! I finally had a compelling reason to go enjoy nature: With no pain holding me back, I could explore to my heart's content, wherever the roads led me! It was the first time I had known true freedom of mobility - I was so overwhelmed I cried on some of my first rides. I could finally choose where to go whenever I felt like it. I could even visit friends without dependency on anyone else or public transport. Overall, I rode about 600km in just one summer!

In late 2021, that trike broke.

It had already been eight years old when I bought it and had some aftermarket modifications. I searched high and low, but no mechanic felt confident the trike's motor could be fixed, or that it was worth the price.

There was, however, one thing absolutely clear to me: I will not give up this newfound freedom.

This is where my plea to you comes in:

I want to buy a new trike , not a second-hand one, a brand new one, tailored to my needs. I know this will last me countless years and will functionally also replace a car. However, adult trikes are highly specialised and not cheap. I'm still studying and cannot work most part-time jobs because of my disability. I'm also not eligible for any kind of disability support by the state. This is both a key to individual freedom and a major investment in my mental and physical health, as there are very few sports I can do.

With this fundraiser, I'm asking for about half the trike's cost. You would be covering the base model: frame, brakes, gears, wheels, all of the usual bits and bobs on a bike - while I would pay the remainder: extras like a suspension, differential, and a pedelec-motor.

I feel I cannot adequately put into words what this means to me, nor do I feel particularly comfortable setting up a fundraiser, but it is my only chance to be riding again soon, and I want that more than anything else right now! I will gladly give you updates and show you pretty pictures from my travels through Switzerland. Those who live near me are also very welcome to give it a spin!

Thank you so much for reading this, and thank you for every bit of support.