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Adapting
Bikes for the
Disabled
Some 30 years ago, Hal Honeyman
opened a store to sell bikes. But he
ended up peddling a more precious com
modity—independence—by adapting
bicycles for disabled kids who couldn’t
otherwise enjoy them.
"Riding a bike is such an important rite of pas
sage for many children" says Honeyman, 50, who
owns and operates the Bike Rack in St. Charles, 111.
(pop. 27,876).
Honeyman’s son, Jacob, was born with cerebral
palsy and cannot walk. But when Jacob was 3,
Honeyman realized his son nonetheless could ride
a specially adapted bike—with an upright seat and
harness to hold a rider and pedal straps to keep feet
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in place. He bought the special bike, modified it to
fit Jacob's proportions, and his son has been loving
life on wheels ever since.
"Now Jacob rides around the neighborhood like
other kids,” says Honeyman, who expanded his shop
in 1997 to sell specialty bikes for disabled riders, cus
tomizing them for his customers’ unique needs. He
estimates that his modified-bicycle business, Creative
Mobility, has helped more than 3,000 children and
adults to find mobility outside a wheelchair over the
last decade.
In 2004, Honeyman started his nonprofit Project
Mobility, which sponsors bike-fitting clinics and
workshops nationwide. He’s assisted by employee
Rick Leipold, who has a spinal cord injury and rides
a hand-cycled recumbent bike. For those who can't
afford S2,(X)O to $4,5(X) tor an adaptive bike, Project
Mobility matches them with potential funding sources.
Project Mobility also supports dozens of adaptive
cycling activities at hospitals, schools, parks and camps.
Every August, Honeyman’s team assists kids from a local
Shriners Hospital who spend a weekend cycling 30 miles
a day along the Illinois River. Once or twice each week,
Honeyman hauls adaptive bikes to an event, such as the
annual Easter Seals picnic in Villa Park, 111.
“He opens up a whole new world for kids who’ve
never biked before and gives them joy and a real
sense of pride,” says Ellie Cummings, a spokes
woman for Easter Seals.
Five years ago, Honeyman’s bikes caught the eye
of Philip and Christeen Chase, of Kansas City, Mo.,
who were touring Chicago's Abilities Expo with their
son Benjamin, then 10 years old, who has cerebral
palsy.
“We never thought Ben could ride a bike, but as
soon as Hal strapped him in, he took off," Philip says.
"We were amazed.” Benjamin is now on his second
adapted bike.
Honeyman enjoys the challenge of fitting a cycle
to a specific rider's needs. He developed joystick
controls and up to 128 gear combinations for quad
riplegics. For a right-hand amputee, he modifies the
shifting and braking controls on a regular road bike
and adds a quick-release device to click a prosthetic
hand into the handlebar.
Recently, Honeyman adapted a tandem bike with
hand supports, a four-point harness and shorter ped
als to fit Jacob, now 14. “My wife or I ride upright
in the back and Jacob’s in a recumbent position up
front," Honeyman says. “With this bike, we can take
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