Adaptive Bikes for Special Needs Riders
In 2019, Kids Bike Lane established a Memorial fund in the memory of Gerald (Jer) Kruse, a founding member of KBL Board of Directors. The fund was designated for adaptive bikes for special needs riders. In 2022 the fund was renamed and expanded to enable donors to give in memory of loved ones and to give a tribute in honor of a friend or colleague. As of 2023, bikes and adult tricycles have been presented to ten special needs riders.
KBL has partnered with two local organizations that serve special needs young adults: Futures Explored and Enjoy Life More. In addition, we have received inquiries from several families who learned of this special fund. The photos that scroll across the top of this page show several of the recipients. There is also a video of Mariah taking her first ride. She is severely disabled, so an adaptive tricycle was specially built for her. When we presented the trike to Mariah in September her mother didn’t expect her to be able to pedal the trike on her own. There is a push/steering rod extended from the handle grip that her mother used to push and steer her. She started pushing and with Mariah’s feet strapped to the pedals she began to pedal on her own. All who were present were surprised and delighted, as was Mariah with a big smile.
In our partnership with Futures Explored we presented a bike to Kyle who did not know he was to receive a new bike on the day we showed up at the Futures Explored site. He was totally surprised and it was a festive event. The Futures Explored site in Livermore trains young adults with intellectual and developmental challenges in media production. The bike for Kyle was an occasion for producing a video, which you can view by clicking on the above link. It is an amazing presentation.
Bring joy to a special needs rider by donating to the Tributes and Memorials Fund. You can click on the “Donate Directly Online” link on the Donate page and then select an option for the Adaptive Bikes donation.
