All Ability Cycling

Fantastic Friday Event

2009-03-04T23:19:00.002-05:00

Friday, February 27th, we packed the trailer and van with cycling equipment and drove to the Gum Springs Rec Center off US 1 in the southeastern section of Fairfax County to participate in a Fantastic Friday event organized by the Fairfax County Therapeutic Recreation Services for families with Autistic children. The slide show that Ces has created does a better job of telling the story than I can with words. Please notice the smiles.

I learned from our participation in this event. The Kidz Tandem was perhaps the best cycling equipment for a high number of those families. With the child in front the Kidz Tandem gives the adult better control of the riding situation. I had a young rider bail off while I was riding with him on the Bike Friday Family Tandem. The Kidz Tandem is easier to transport than our side by side or the trikes connected in tandem. The only draw back is the cycling ability of the adult. For some people it takes time to adjust to the balance and length of the Kidz Tandem. With excited young participants we did not always have the time to work with the adult and settle their concerns.

It was a good event. My thanks to the Fairfax County Therapeutic Services for the opportunity to participate.

Tockwotton Twister

2009-03-04T22:24:00.003-05:00

On Friday, February 20th, I delivered a Draisin Twister to the Tockwotton Home in Providence, Rhode Island. The photos show Judy Brown and Joe Trott on a test ride after we had reviewed the features of the Twister. They rode a little and then switched positions.

This Twister is going to get lots of use as Spring comes to Rhode Island. The Tockwotton Home is in an older section of Providence with streets that seem quiet. There is a bridge over a major highway to a trail which runs for miles. The Twister has independent pedaling and an electronic motor assist which will allow Tockwotton Home residents to enjoy as much or as little pedaling as they can manage. The seat on one side of the Twister has a five point seat belt and pedals which have a plate and velcro straps so an individual who could not use typical cycling equipment can go for a fun filled ride. Twisters come with hydraulic disc brakes in the rear and hydraulic rim brake on the front. The front can be used as a parking brake which comes in handy as riders get on and off.

With true German engineering the Draisin folks have thought of so many nice features. The electronic assist requires pedaling by a rider to be functional. You can't just turn on the throttle to have an electronic go-cart for two. There is a sensor that measures the pedaling and allows the assist motor to work. The independent pedaling can be turned off and on with the flip of a switch. So you can start out with both riders doing synchronized pedaling and then if one rider tires then the independent pedaling can be activated. The handlebars can be swung away from the seats to allow easier mounting and dismounting of the Twister.

Judy Brown is Program Direct at Tockwotton Home. I'm looking forward to hearing about the Twister's use by residents, staff, and families during this year. With the current location of the home and plans for development of a new location there will be many hours of riding pleasure for all. If you want to learn more about Tockwotton Home go to http://www.tockwotton.org/

Draisin Day --- Sunday, March 2

2008-01-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

You are invited to Draisin Day at the Vienna Community Building on Sunday, March 2. It will be a party to introduce Washington area families to the draisin Plus, Captain Duo, Twister, Relax, and Relaxino. The event will begin at 1 PM and go until 4 PM. There will be test rides, photos, and gifts. Please mark your calendar.

All Ability Cycling

2007-12-04T08:42:00.000-05:00

It has been a year since the conversations began with draisin GmbH. Today in America you can test ride a draisin trike. Today in America you can purchase a draisin trike. Today you can take that trike home. That's progress, but there is oh so much more to do.

My business for the last nine and one half years has been bikes@vienna, LLC. The business is a small, speciality bike/trike store in Vienna, VA. Vienna is a town that works hard to have a small community feel. It is thirteen miles from Washington, DC....our nation's Capital. The store is located on an alley in what was an old garage for painting commercial trucks. It is just a block and one half from the Washington & Old Dominion Trail which is a forty-four mile long paved trail stretching from all most the Potomac River to almost the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The store is in the midst of bad influences....Yaz Bakery next door produces Iranian bake goods and with that comes wonderful aromas......Great Harvest Bread sells bread, cookies, and granola........Nielsen's Frozen Custard provides the richest tasting custards that you can imagine. There are calories galore.

My customers know about these bad influences and many times bikes@vienna is the turnaround point on the rides they take. Let's ride to bikes@vienna and have some ____________ from ____________ while we're there. It has that small town feel and I like that.

Over fifty-five percent of my bike/trike sales are recumbents. I have products from more than ten recumbent manufacturers. Many times I have people visit the store or communicate by phone or email trying to locate the right equipment to allow them to ride a bike or trike. The internet has become a valuable tool in those searches and so I get messages from across this country.

It was the "right" moment when I was contacted by draisin GmbH last year. I had been helping several customers try to solve challenges. I had searched for solutions using the internet. I had found that there was a gap in the products available in the United States.

Further research showed me that draisin had trikes that met many of the needs I was encountering. I traveled to Germany in February to visit draisin. The products were impressive and the people of draisin were even more impressive. I was sold.

Importing products from Europe is not a quick process. It was June before the container of draisin trikes arrived in Vienna.