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Tucson native riding El Tour de Tucson without limitations

Jessica Cox was born without arms, but she’s not letting it stop her from doing all the things she loves.

By: Heidi Alagha

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TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Jessica Cox was born without arms, but she’s not letting it stop her from doing all the things she loves.

“So I’m the worlds first arm less pilot. I fly planes and I do things like surfing, scuba diving, I practice a lot of martial arts here in Tucson and I’m a fourth-degree black belt in taekwondo,” said Cox.

This weekend, she plans to ride El Tour De Tucson, and she wont be riding alone.

“I’ll be riding with not only one other friend who has a disability but 22 cyclists with disabilities," said Cox.

Five years ago, Jessica created the Rightfooted Foundation. It’s an organization she says is needed in the community.

“People with disabilities sometimes feel isolated and alone. And we have to come together and create a community of inclusion,” said Cox.

It’s a foundation she says she needed growing up. “It is so empowering to give back to a community of people with disabilities because that’s what I needed as a child,” said Cox.

Cox has a special bicycle that allows her to fulfill her dream of riding a bike. She says, “I have to go back to those years as a child and how freeing it was to get on those wheels and just take off on a bike.”

While cyclists work out their legs while riding, Cox is doing way more than that. “I’m able to steer, which is the hardest thing for people to believe. How do you steer without arms and hands? I use my ribcage to steer,” said Cox. She says it’s a full ab workout every time she rides.

Born and raised in Tucson, Cox wouldn’t want it any other way.

“We come together as Tucsonans, as people from all over the state and some even the country to show our sense of community here in Tucson which is incredible,” said Cox.

And she can’t wait to ride this year’s El Tour De Tucson. She says, “when I cross that finish line, I’m going to look around and I’m going to see more people cyclists with disabilities than I’ve ever seen and I think that for me is going to be an overwhelming sense of joy and inclusion.”

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