You Can Ride Too

Yesterday Youngest Son and I volunteered a few hours at the You Can Ride Two (Too) bike fitting day. It was so much fun! I just loved seeing the kids and their families and the many happy faces as the children found the right bikes. And I was super impressed with the physiotherapists and others who volunteered their time to make it happen. 

One sweet little girl had a hard time finding a bike that worked for her. She and her beautiful family were there for about two hours, but they finally left with something she could manage to pedal and steer -- and of course, with the hope that she will improve and become stronger as time goes on.

There were lots of international families, so that was special for me too. So many of my ESL students have commented on the freedom enjoyed by persons with disabilities here in Canada. I know we probably still have a long way to go, but from what my students tell me, in some countries, anyone who has a disability is kept at home, out of the public eye. One reason is that families are ashamed or embarrassed, but it's also because they just can't get around very well -- no ramps, no special seats on the bus, no wide doorways. I know that this is partly because some of the infrastructure is so old that it would be extremely expensive and difficult to convert it to handicap-friendly structures, but the message I hear is that the embarrassment and shame families feel about having a disabled relative is also to blame.

Anyway, so it make me happy to see families from Asia and Africa and South America accessing this program so that their children can have what we consider the quintessential childhood experience of riding a bike!

It was a gorgeous day yesterday, with a high of 7 C. That's Plus 7, not the minus temperatures we have become accustomed to over the last few weeks. Since the bike fitting took place out here in Spruce Grove, Y.S. and I rode our bikes to the school, just a couple of kilometers away. There were a few puddles, but riding through those and getting splashed is a small price to pay for solid (or should that be liquid?) evidence that spring is on its way.