Many of us with disabilities are, sadly, used to being described and perceived as being 'confined'. Often, this is in the context of being "confined to a wheelchair" after an illness or accident.

Ask any of us if this is true and the reply would be that we would be confined without a wheelchair. Take away the wheelchair and things would become considerably more difficult.

But it is not just that we would be confined without a wheelchair. The wheelchair is often one of an array of aids from which we can choose for specific activities. And, far from being a symbol of our demise, these aids are the means whereby we attain aspects of the freedom which we dearly crave. For my part, I have an arsenal of mobility aids that includes my car, a power-chair, a wheelchair, four walking sticks and... a tricycle.

Yes, a tricycle. Every day I use my tricycle to get about the Hartburn area of Stockton where I live. Where balancing and fatigue is normally a problem on a bike, I can amble at my leisure on my Pashley Tri-1. Where the wheelchair struggles past cars parked carelessly and thoughtlessly on the pavement and over-dropped kerbs, the trike glides effortlessly along the road. When it is difficult or impossible to carry a load and walk with my sticks, the three-wheeler manages with ease.

Cycling is known to be the most efficient converter of energy into movement - there is no slicker way to get around. So, bearing this in mind, it would seem quite reasonable to propose that people with disabilities get involved.

With proper care and advice, many could discover, as I have, that there is indeed potential for them in cycling. That very care and advice does, happily, exist locally in two cycling groups and one manufacturer.

Naturally, we all need expert advice, gentle encouragement and individual attention and that is where the cycling groups Cycleability of Chester-le-Street and Gateway Wheelers of Urlay Nook come in.

I recently went along to meet Dave Patterson of Gateway Wheelers, which meets at the Admiralty Ecology Park just outside of Eaglescliffe.

On a network of traffic-free, perfectly flat roads, club members can try out a variety of machines - as Dave put it - "as diverse as our members". Dave is keen to point out that Gateway is not so much an organisation for the disabled - a phrase he tries to avoid - but more of a specialist service for people who don't ride conventional cycles. He is equally passionate about the fact that we should see the person's ability first - not their disability - and then find a cycle to meet this need.

Similar aims apply to Cycleability, who meet in Chester-le-Street's Riverside Park. Both groups believe cycling is a truly liberating form of transport and encourage it as a social activity, as a sport and as a means of taking control of your life.

The rule at both venues is to provide a safe environment for beginners and those who need close supervision. For Gateway, this is the network of traffic-free roads and for Cycleability it is the athletics track at the park. They have machines you can operate by hand from a wheelchair; machines that enable you to sit side-by-side with a partner as a guide or to simply someone to chat with; recumbent machines that provide lots of upper-body support; go-karts...you name it.

As confidence develops, people can venture further afield. For example, Cycleability use the paths around the park and along the banks of the River Wear. Efforts are also made on the part of both groups to arrange events beyond their normal meeting place. Gateway is about to embark on a trip to Holland while Cycleability can arrange to visit schools in the Durham area.

We are also fortunate, locally, to have an engineer in John Halliwell, technical director of Toucan Engineering, who is developing a side by side recumbent trike that delights in the name of 2Can-I.

I met John to go for a spin with him on his sleek three-wheeler around the streets of Guisborough. It was a pleasant surprise to experience how secure I felt in the recumbent car-style seats; how simple it was to pedal as we shared the load; how the machine was equally at home on mountain tracks as on suburban roads.

It would appear that there is a type of cycle to meet almost everyone's needs and there are certainly people willing to help.

If my experience is anything to go by, it is most definitely worth a try.