Bike camp produces skills, smiles
JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Rowen McGough practices riding an adaptive bike with a roller as a back wheel under the monitoring of Tammy Smith, left, and Jessica Plesuk, right, who are iCan Bike camp volunteers from Blue Cross Blue Shield.
JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Kimera Bruce practices outdoor riding in the YMCA parking lot Thursday, July 16, as iCan Bike volunteer Devin Walter jogs alongside to offer any needed encouragement and assistance.
JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Rowen McGough practices riding an adaptive bike with a roller as a back wheel under the monitoring of Tammy Smith, left, and Jessica Plesuk, right, who are iCan Bike camp volunteers from Blue Cross Blue Shield.
JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Kimera Bruce practices outdoor riding in the YMCA parking lot Thursday, July 16, as iCan Bike volunteer Devin Walter jogs alongside to offer any needed encouragement and assistance.
Trending
Learning to ride a bike is a rite of passage for many youngsters, and the iCan Bike program is ensuring that individuals with disabilities can share in that experience.
This week, for about the sixth year, Prairie Grit Adaptive Sports has been hosting iCan Bike, a program that gives people with disabilities the experience of independently riding a conventional two-wheel bicycle. Research shows that more than 80% of people with autism and 90% of people with Down syndrome never experience this thrill, according to the iCan Shine program that brings iCan Bike camps into communities like Minot.
"They're learning skills, of course, of bike riding, but then they're also gaining that newfound confidence that they can do anything they set their mind to," said Kaitlyn Schmidt with iCan Shine.
"Success looks different for all of our riders," she added, noting each camper shines in his or her own way. Some pick up the skills quickly while others are nervous to get on the bike the first day. But by the end of the week, they all have the biggest smiles on their faces, Schmidt said.
iCan Shine provides adaptive bikes, which are bikes with changeable rollers instead of back wheels that teach balance techniques and riding reactions.
Bikers start with a back roller of equal circumference all the way around, building up confidence as campers work on pedaling, steering and keeping their eyes forward, Schmidt said.
"As the course of the week goes on, the rollers taper, so they mimic what a back two-wheel tire will be. So, that's what's truly doing the teaching for them," Schmidt said.
Additionally, the program has a tandem bike that offers both learning and fun.
During the camp, staff help families find an appropriate family bike so they can transition from the training bikes to traditional bikes by the end of the camp.
"We teach the parents different strategies to continue to work with their riders, so they can ride off into the sunset," Schmidt said. If riders need more instruction to get the hang of biking, they also are able to enroll in the camp again the next summer.
The program's success rate is 80% when it comes to campers being capable of riding a regular two-wheeled bicycle at the end of the sessions, Prairie Grit Executive Director Krystal Butgereit said.
"Coming five days a week and 75-minute sessions really helps them practice. It commits all of those things that we take for granted to muscle memory, so it's more automatic for them, and the bike really does the training. The adaptive bicycles they have teach them those skills," she said.
This year's camp has 11 bikers in the three daily sessions that began on Monday, July 13, and wrap up on Friday, July 17. The camp is open to ages 8 and older. This summer's campers range up to age 18, Butgereit said.
After learning about iCan Shine through the Anne Carlsen Center, Prairie Grit initially co-hosted the camp for its first few years in Minot, Butgereit said. For the last three years, Prairie Grit has served as primary host, with several local sponsors assisting. Sponsors help ensure scholarships are available so the camp is affordable for all families.
Local volunteer assistants also are key to the program. Adults monitor and encourage each of the bikers, and the adaptive bikes have a training handle to provide assistance as needed.
"They are the success of our program. We could not do this without them," Schmidt said. "Truly, the volunteers are the pivotal driving force of our program."
"It's just cool to see someone that's never ridden a bike and in one week they are riding on their own," said Minot volunteer Devin Walter, who has been returning to help ever since volunteering when his son was in the program. "It's just really rewarding. That's why we come back and keep doing it."
iCan Shine, an international nonprofit, offers camps in 36 states and four Canadian provinces.
"We roughly have 70 to 100 camps a summer, and we have 15 (bike) fleets," Schmidt said. "Essentially, each week we could have 15 camps happening across the country all at one time. We like to say we're changing rollers, changing lives, everywhere we go."
It's also a joy to watch riders form friendships and parents communicate with each other, she said.
"It's the most magical week of the year," Schmidt said. "It never gets old to see their smiling faces when they say, 'Look, I did it!'"