Wednesday, November 29, 2017

The Mule

On October 21st, we traveled to JMU for the official trike hand-off. If you're new to this story, I recommend checking out these two posts.

It was a beautiful, warm October day. Engineering student Kristin had spent the summer tweaking, painting, building, and finishing Elena's new trike with the features we had picked from the spring. We were all so excited! Students, professors, and administrators came (some with their families) for Elena's inaugural ride.

You can imagine how emotional I was--Elena walked up to it, all smiles.

Love at first sight


She climbed right on, it fit her, and she literally just took off!




Finishing the first loop!

Kristen dubbed the trike "The Mule", because Viv and I put our stuff in the rear basket--having Elena carry our stuff for a change.  In addition to the basket, The Mule features the following: low step through (for easy mounting), single rear drive train (right rear), custom trike adapter (smaller, lighter than commercially available), dual front and rear brakes (operated by one lever, left hand), slightly large pedals (to help her stay on a little better), forward pedal design (a more comfortable ride/better leg utility for her), 3 gear shift (trigger shifter, operated by right forefinger and thumb), water bottle holder (in rear basket; she can easily get it when stopped), bike bell (left hand). Also included but not shown is a larger front fork; this frame can accommodate 24"wheels (these are 20") in either a bike or trike orientation. The trike fits in the van (this was a requirement) when the front wheel is turned sideways. It weighs approximately 40 lbs (35?) and I can put it in the rear of the van (with some difficulty; without a crossbar (low step through), there isn't much to hold when maneuvering).

So that was October.

We have been riding every week since then (check us out on Instagram--the feed is in the sidebar). We started on a paved path near our house by the river. It's easy and pretty--and now no problem for Elena.

I can't keep up on foot with these two

We've tried the gravel trail; large gravel isn't Elena's favorite. We've also discovered the Virginia Rail Trails system--our favorite so far has been High Bridge!

It was WINDY!

Elena's max distance right now is about 4 flat miles. When she tires, her feet fall off the pedals (she typically puts her heel on the pedal, and when fatigued, they fall off easily). So I've been thinking about ways to help her keep her feet in place.


Gravel


Riding by the beach


I have 2 main ideas, one for outdoor (involves magnets, still waiting on some parts) and for indoor (clip in pedals). I wanted an indoor trike option during the winter. That's almost figured out--wait until the next post!

2 comments:

Meghan said...

I’ve been meaning to write a email to you about ideas I have that might help Elena but do the recent implementation of a baclofen pump (I actually had my surgery today) but there was a lot on preparation! I am 22 also have cerebral palsy! I’ve emailed you in the past hopefully I will again soon!
Thanks!

Ferm Nogueira said...

This is awessome