UNCATEGORIZED

JUNE 6, 2024 CINDYROSSTRAVELER LEAVE A COMMENT EDIT

It’a been difficult to find activities with our veteran friends that work for both them and Todd, in his compromised, paralyzed body, but cycling is it!. Todd rides a recumbent e-assist trike, and can keep up with the best on it. So we organized a longish ride down the Delaware & Lehigh Corridor, a rail trail and canal trail that travels for 140-miles from Wilkes-Barre, PA along the Lehigh River, to Easton, where it heads south along the Delaware River to Bristol, NJ. We invited our favorite veterans and brought Travis Johnston (star of our film, “Walking Toward Peace,” www.searcherfilms.com/wtp ) all the way from Savannah to participate. Along with his very pregnant wife, Kaya, and their one-year-old daughter, Ava.

We invited veteran Danny Stein to come along, who has not been on a bike since he was a child and we had no prior time to even test run him on a bike to see how he would do. But our other dear veteran friend, Ryan Allman, purchased a trike for the sole purpose of sharing it with veterans like Dan, who have compromised back and other body issues.

We employed Rod Mann of Canalside Guest House in Weissport to be out shuttler, and bike mechanic, and Beth Ellen Pennell, my girlfriend from whose friendship dates back to my Appalachian Trail days in 1979, came to help and cook and enjoy the ride. 

We could not deal with actually carting our gear along besides riding, so we stayed at Rod’s cycling guesthouse the first three night, shuttling after our day rides. Then I rented cabins at Nokimixon Lake SP for the last two nights.

We started off with a bang, cycling 22 miles fast the first afternoon after a late start and had high hopes for completing the entire route. But the challenges kicked in the second day- high heat resulting in heat exhaustion, closed trail from flooding, made covering high mileage impossible. But we adjusted our goals and realized that just getting out together and cycling and having fun in nature was the most important goal and that was achieved.

We had daily stops for ice cream, enjoyed big homemade dinners, delicious pizzas donated by another veteran who couldn’t be present, lots of conversation and laughter. Kaya and Travis learned that long distance cycling with a baby is possible and Travis learned that he too, would probably feel much better on a trike too instead of a two-wheel bike. We all enjoyed having a baby along to brighten us up and add to the fun. Danny was so happy that he could ride and manage the pain and discomfort which decreased every day as he grew stronger. We at River House, were very happy to be able to treat our veterans and their families to a bike trip, completely free of charge, thanks to donations from our supporters. 

In 2025, we have a very adventurous undertaking as we head to Washington state on the west coast to begin cycling on the Great American Rail Trail. The trail will be 3,700 miles when completed, utilizing rail-to-trails along the way. Two thousand miles have been completed and cycling these sections will be our goal next late summer, early fall. We plan to build awareness for the need of accessible nature for the disabled, both the physically and mentally challenged. Ryan Allman, our dear veteran who is skilled in computer things and is very generous with his time, created a pitch deck of our trip. You can read all about it at www.cindyrosstraveler.com/road-to-recovery) We will connect to veterans organization, bike clubs, and the media as we cycle across, inviting them to come out and learn about adaptive cycling. Perhaps you would like to be a part and help make this happen. 

Thank you for being there for our veterans and rooting us all on. Having Todd newly disabled has given us new insight into the challenges our veterans face and how important and valuable nature can be to healing, health, and joy. It has been an amazing experience to give the veterans we have helped for the last ten years, an opportunity to help Todd and give back to us.  We all work together, have grown even closer in our friendship and support of one another, and are helping one another heal. There have been excellent news coverage about this whole concept in stories in the Philadelphia Inquirer and on WFMZ News TV. Check it out.