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Jaye J Pye of Stanmore Bay begins spray painting the frame of the custom trike for Hamish Fergusson. Hamish on his specially built trike that was stolen from the family home.
A drift trike club has built a new custom trike for 17-year-old Hamish Fergusson after his trike was stolen from his family home at Snells Beach on August 20.
The trike was specially adapted for Hamish, who has cerebral palsy. A post about the theft on the Mahurangi Matters Facebook page gained 613 shares and reached 48,635 people, including Jaye J Pye of Stanmore Bay.
Jaye J belongs to the 3 Wheel Motion Drift Trike NZ group and contacted Mahurangi Matters (Hibiscus Matters’ sister paper), offering to build Hamish a replacement trike.
“I saw the Facebook post and it was an absolute no brainer, we had to help,” Jaye J says.
The club has around 30 members and builds custom drift trikes that are capable of downhill speeds of up to 80kph. For Hamish’s dad, Peter Fergusson, the offer was a complete surprise.
“I was absolutely blown away that Jaye J and the team would offer to make a new trike,” Mr Fergusson says. “It has restored my faith in humanity.”
Mr Fergusson was at home when the trike was stolen from the front of his Snells Beachs section. He says security camera footage from a neighbouring property shows two men pulling up in a flat-deck ute, riding the trike and then taking it.
“I was hoping that some kids took it for a spin and then hid it. We searched all weekend. Hamish and I were in the back garden when they took it which is the unsettling thing.”
Mr Fergusson is president of the Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand. He says cerebral palsy normally occurs at birth and the effect on movement ranges from a slight limp to wheelchair confinement. In some cases, including Hamish’s, it also causes learning difficulties. Hamish has undergone several operations to help elongate his tendons and maintain some degree of mobility. Mr Fergusson says that although Hamish can walk short distances, it is painful.
“The trike is his lifeline for getting around and connecting with people. He is very well known locally,” Mr Fergusson says.
The new trike has posed a few engineering challenges for Jaye J and the team. It needs to be made-to-measure, adjustable and use mountain bike wheels.
“Our trikes are lower with go-kart wheels and are harder to peddle,” Jaye J says.
“Hamish sits above the pedals to make it easier. We also had to machine different axles to fit the rear wheels, which are 26 inch.”
Xplode Signage of Silverdale put 3 Wheel Motion graphics on the front wheel cover, free of charge.
Mr Fergusson says that Hamish was stoked to hear about the new trike.
“He’s absolutely over the moon. It’s all he talks about. He likes blue, but says he will ride anything to get around, even if it’s bright pink!”
Members of 3 Wheel Motion Drift Trike NZ handed the bike over to Hamish in Warkworth on Saturday, September 10, then went for a ride with him.
