Cerebral Palsy Kids and Families' adaptive bike program offers overwhelming experience

A Calgary-based, volunteer-operated agency is taking kids out of wheelchairs and putting them onto bicycles.

Cerebral Palsy Kids and Families has more than 600 adaptive bicycles and just added five new adaptive, purpose-built tandem e-bikes to its collection.

It started the program 25 years ago by taking simple two-wheelers and adding large training wheels for balance, and replacing the pedals with foot plates and installing bigger seats and straps to keep riders secured.

Sheralee Stelter, the agency's executive director, says many parents are overwhelmed to see their child on a bike.

"Parents are crying because I don't think they ever thought that their child would ever ride a bike," she said.

"Or do other typical things that often, many people take for granted."

Cerebral Palsy Kids and Families has a loan program where it purchases bikes and families can borrow them for $75 a year.

This way, families don't have to buy a new bike when their child outgrows it.

Now, it's including a number of tandem e-bikes, so families can ride together.

"The bikes are coming in from the Netherlands. We also get some from Winnipeg from Freedom Concepts," Stelter said.

"Some of our kids with the adaptive bikes, they may not have the speed, sometimes, you have to have a parent supporting them, but this is an opportunity to just go out cycling (as) a family.

"Everybody's included and it's just an incredible, super fun activity."

Matt McLean, the agency's bike shop manager, says the five new e-bikes made by Van Raam in the Netherlands are expensive, costing up to $15,000.

"They thought through a lot of stuff on those bikes," he said.

"Like, really well-engineered. The manufacturing is really good on them."

McLean says the tandem e-bikes are used in the Adventure Library program where the bikes are transported to a Calgary park and families can book hour-long sessions on them for a fee.

One allows a wheelchair to be rolled onto a platform in front of the person controlling the bike.

Another has a large seat in front of the handlebars and the bike can be split apart so the seat turns into a wheelchair.

"Every time we go to the parks with them, we have our clients that are riding the bikes and while they're stopped, people on the pathway system are like, 'What is this? How do I get one?' because they're just something else," McLean said.

Stelter's 28-year-old son Taylor started riding at four and is taking advantage of the new e-bikes as a passenger.

"When you first get that diagnosis, it's a kick in the stomach, honest to goodness," she said.

"It's just like, oh my gosh, and you know what? Often, you'll hear everything that they're not going to be able to do. Our families come in here and we (tell parents) they can ride a bike and they'll say, 'Sheralee, like, they can't walk.' I said, 'Just come and try.'"

Stelter knows many lives have been changed by introducing families to adaptive bikes.

"They come, their child goes onto the bike," she said.

"We strap them in and magically, their child who could not sit, walk or roll can ride a bike."

You can learn more about Cerebral Palsy Kids and Families' adaptive bike program at calgarycp.org.