So I had the drive from wheelchair van delivered a few weeks ago.
Tbh it was a mental challenge, the whole thing.

For a start I’d never driven a van, even when able bodied, and now I’m supposed to get in in a wheelchair attached to a triride, take off the triride, secure that bit so it doesn’t fall over and fly around the inside ( and then trap me inside because it falls over and I can’t get out past it ) then manoeuvre my wheelchair to the driver position, lock in and drive this bloody huge vehicle.

Because it was parked under a tree for 3 weeks it was now covered in sap as well, meaning you can’t see out of the windows.

Right, thanks to Marky P for his massive help and his time.

I thought ‘ start easy- tiny journey to a filling station, get him to fill it up, and drive back to a different parking space somewhere less sappy.

Well that wasn’t what happened. Plan evaporated immediately and I got on the busy A4 and found a station about 2 miles away. Marky filled it up and then I thought Sod It I’ll keep driving.

So, to Staines on the A30 and then onto the M25 motorway ( full of traffic ) , then back to London on the M4.
Then Mark said we might get the van washed. Ok I said. Detour to his house for a spanner to move my steering wheel ball to the 10 o’clock position from the 5 o’clock position it was bizarrely in.
Drive through school pick up heavy traffic to a car wash in Acton.
Van too high to get in.
Reverse out and around a corner. Felt like Driving blind but managed it. Another mile of very heavy traffic to a different car wash. Full of vehicles and stop start moving and having to move the van as per the washer fellas exact instructions.
No calamities.

Drive back through crazy busy 5 o’clock West London traffic to the North Circular and back to Brentford, and back to Mark’s car.
Then solo drive to find a better space nearer my home.
Mmmm no luck for a while and then boom, a disabled bay with ideal access near ish to my home.
Parked in Bay.

Manoeuvred chair backwards and for to Triride.
Reattached triride.
Reverséd to exit position in van and pressed correct buttons to open the rear doors. Reversed onto exit lift.
More buttons to lower lift with me in it to road level… and escape.

Two and a half hours, the A4, the A30, school run traffic, the M25, the M4, the North Circular – all in a van ( for the first time ) AND driving from a blimmin wheelchair.

No crashes. No near misses.
Didn’t feel at all stressed tbh.

I think that my Triride journeys are so dangerous that driving a large van doesn’t seem to be a big deal, relatively speaking.
Gotta sort out better attachments for the Triride but other than that it’s ok and my world is about to get much bigger.

Go me.
And go Marky P for his amazing commitment and friendship.

❤️♿️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿