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Welcome to the Noisy Neighbors “A Bike For Mike” page! As we promised, we want to keep everyone up to date as we get Mike his bike. We'd like to extend a huge thank you to the following business for their
contributions to the silent auction, and we encourage you to click on their
links for more information about their businesses: From Outdoors for All’s executive director:
Monday, May 10, 2010 We’re still anxiously awaiting the delivery of Mike’s bike. Mike Lofgren has been working on trying to locate the non-standard components that will drive the cost of the bike down. He estimates that the bikes will come in at around $3200 a peice, or about $600-$800 less than bikes built to his normal specs. We decided to only take delivery of Mike’s bike for now. Following the unfortunate loss of some of our donations to fraudulent checks, we realized it was just too much of a stretch to fund both bikes. We need to get Mike training for the STP sooner than later, so we'll hold off on Emily’s until we can save up some additional funds. We’re about $1500 shy of getting her bike. All the funds have been tranferred to Tom, so in the event you’d like to donate additional money to the fund, or know of someone else that would like to donate, please contact Tom via e-mail, tomskis@verizon.net. We hope our next post will be about delivery day! Friday, April 9, 2010 What a day! Mark and I picked up Michael and Emily at about 8:30 at their house in Lacy and headed south to Tualatin, Oregon. It turns out that Freedom Ryder is a very small operation run out of designer/inventor Mike Lofgren’s home south of Portland. We arrived there shortly after noon.
As we arrived, Mike L. pulled out the demo FRH-1, the bike he recommended for Mike R. Mike L told me right away that he thought Mike R would have no troubles riding the bike, and he was right. After a brief orientation and some adjustments, Mike R was ready to start pedaling. Talk about smooth! Mike had a bit of trouble figuring out the steering and shifting, but this was obviously the bike for him! In no time, and after a few tweaks to better position his body on the bike, he was zipping up and down the street. Talk about a smile a mile wide! With the bike being so low to the ground and stable, and with a disc brake that stops on a dime, Mike was in heaven!
Mike did discover one potential issue, when he cut a corner a bit close and popped the front tire hitting the curb. It turns out flat tires was something Emily was already thinking about, and we got to talking with Mike L. about it. He will be looking into a slightly smaller wheel that can accommodate a solid tire similar to a road bike tire that can never go flat. We picked up the front of the bike and pulled it back to the house, and Mike L. changed out the front wheel.
Then it was Emily’s turn. On the way down, Emily had been telling us that she really wanted to try this bike out, because she thought she could pick it up easily. It turns out she has PLENTY of experience on handcycles with her family. I asked Mike why he never told us she had ridden before, and in true husband fashion, he replied, “Because I never knew until today”. She kicked his butt up and down the street! Emily rode the thing from the get-go like she’s been on it dozens of times. She absolutely loved the bike, saying it felt so easy to pedal, and so very stable because it’s so low to the ground.
As Emily was cruising up and down the street, it became evident that two bikes were in order. I started talking with Mike L. about pricing, and he mentioned that most of the components like wheels and hubs were top-of-the-line items because a lot of their customers want high-performance race-quality set-ups. By using a few more high-end recreational-quality items like wheels and hubs, he felt he could reduce the price a fair amount. There were a few items he needs to look into, and then he will present me with a quote for two FRH-1 bikes, one in purple and one in candy apple red. It sounds like we'll be very close to being able to buy two bikes!
Mike just about ran out his cell phone battery on the way home, calling all kinds of folks to share his excitement. There was a lot of talk about training rides, other goodies for the bikes, and, of course, the STP.
April 1, 2010 A special thank you to everyone that attended the “A Bike For Mike” fundraiser! We met our goal of raising enough money to buy a new handcycle for Mike! Donations are still rolling in, thanks to the generosity of people that weren’t able to make it to the event. We will be able to cover the bike, a pair of decent helmets, and accessories like bags, water bottle cages, lights, etc. We will probably enlist the help of Tom’s company to design and build crutch holders so Mike can take his “sticks” with him on rides as well. Depending on the final tally, we may even find a way to get a bike for Emily, too.
After several hours of internet research on different brands of bikes, we've decided to go check out Freedom Ryder Handcycles just south of Portland. This is the brand of bike Mike saw at the finish line of last year’s STP that lit his dream afire. Tom has made contact with Freedom Ryder, and it looks like Mark and Tom will take Mike there on Friday, April 9. The Freedom Ryder guys seem to be very down to earth, and have been making these bikes for over 20 years!
They have demo bikes, so Mike will get fitted and checked out to make sure we have the right setup. There are no bikes in stock, but they will have one ready by April 20. Since it’s still being manufactured, Mike can get his custom color choice of purple!
Thanks again to everyone that attended. Believe me, we've been absolutely floored by the response and support. We didn’t think we'd make our goal, so this exceeds our wildest expectations. And yes, Mike can barely contain himself!
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Saturday, March 27, 2010
The American Legion has donated their facility for this event and will be running a cash bar. About Mike and a quest for a better bike. Mike Rodgers is a 42 year old man with Cerebral Palsy from Olympia. For most of his life, he was as much the victim of conventional thinking as he was of CP. Because of his condition, he wasn’t taught to read, to walk, or how to develop the life skills that would allow him to be an independent adult. Fortunately, fate paired him up with a physical therapist that would become his friend and mentor, and who would set him on the road to independent living. In the last 15 years, Mike has learned to walk with crutches, gained the “life experiences” that allowed him to move out on his own, begin working for the State of Washington, and get married. His abilities and opportunities continue to grow as he takes on new challenges such as learning to read. As a state advocate for the disabled, he’s met two sitting Presidents, and has participated in speaking engagements with Erin Gruwell, the teacher behind the group of underprivileged students in the book and movie, “The Freedom Writers.” He continues to touch and inspire people wherever he goes. Unfortunately, for all the opportunities his job provides, his salary doesn’t provide much discretionary income.
While he lives in Olympia, his circle of friends extends across the state. He has the most positive attitude of anyone you will ever meet. His friends have introduced him to variety of activities such as adaptive water skiing, boating, snowmobiling, and hiking. While exciting, these are not practical and independent activities. The one activity that fits that bill is bicycling. With help from Outdoors for All, Mike rode a total of 35 miles in the 2009 Group Health Seattle to Portland bike ride. The handcycle he rode was a loaner, so training time was limited and the bike he rode wasn’t a perfect match for Mike’s abilities. It had a high center of gravity, and he took numerous spills during training and the actual ride. True to his personality, he picked himself up each time and rode on.
Mike fully intends to ride again in the July, 2010 STP event with his
friends as his support group. This fundraiser is part of our effort to
provide him with an adaptive bike of his own, low and stable, fit to his
body. Having his own, would allow him the time to build familiarity with the
bike and increase his physical conditioning so he can travel much further in
2010. Handcycling provides a freedom of movement in the outdoors that few
other activities can provide to disabled individuals.
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