Welcome to Adaptive Cycling and our Family Cycling Center.  Here in the NEWS section that will keep you up to date with our progress to develop the most unique cycling hub in the country.  My name is Dennis Sutherlin and I am a father of two girls.  My oldest, Breanna has Rett’s Syndrome and I have done my best to keep her riding with me since 1996 when she was only 1.  The same goes for my youngest, Zoe who also has been on the bike with me since 2003 at the same age with no disabilities.  My Partner Rich Benton also has daughter who has ridden with him since she was two this year and shares my enthusiasm for riding with our children even though we are devoted bike racers.  Our children just make training that much more challenging and rewarding.  Even a simple spin on the Buddy Bike can be a great recovery ride and a pure dream ride for a child.  Everyone is happy.

December 3, 2007

Orange County Parks gave us the key before Thanksgiving and we have been busy setting up shop since.  We have all the bikes on order even though some are out of stock like the Sun Bicycle recumbents and tandem.  We currently have 3 Buddy Bikes, 2 Hase Pino’s, 3 Hase trets, 1 CoMotion Trident (3 seater), and 2 Trek tandems.  The CoMotion tandems, Morgan Cycles, and Single bikes should be in this week.  This past weekend we had a great Junior practice Saturday morning with kids from ages 6 to 16 from Team ORC and PAL.  I rode the Hase Pino with Bree while I was coaching the other kids because she loves being around the kids and riding the Pino.  Sunday I did the Yalaha Bakery ride with Zoe on the Hase Pino with Team ORC for 76 miles.  A Five year old doing a 4.5 hour, 76 mile ride without one complaint except why we couldn’t keep up with the racers when we hit the hills at the 55 mile point.  Go figure. 

December 14, 2007

We now have our Sun Bike USX and SX Trikes built up and had fun riding them around the park on Sunday.  The 4 CoMotion Periscope tandems came in and are ready to ride as well as 3 each of the Morgan Cycle model 26 and 20.  I fabricated 10 sets of the crank shorteners to use on any cranks being used by someone under 10 years old so they don’t have to try to turn 170mm adult length cranks.  These work real well on the Buddy bike and CoMotion tandems that come with 170’s at both stations.  I also fabricated an adjustable stand to hold any upright bike stable with riders on it so we can properly fit everyone without fear of them falling over while we make adjustments.  I am currently making pedal adapters that will also act as blocks or risers on top of pedals to give little legs more reach.  Next will be foot platforms and leg braces.  Over the next couple weeks we should have most of the adaptive devices posted under the Adaptation section of the website so everyone can see what I am talking about.  It’s looking pretty good for us having a well organized shop with all the tools and spare parts to get people riding by the January 5^th Grand Opening.

December 28, 2007

Through the craziness of the holidays we were still able to accomplish many things for the shop.  Bike Works generously donated 10 comfort bikes for use by individuals needing a bike to pull the Hase Trets or Morgan cycle trailer trikes or to ride with the rest of their family on other tandem bikes.  Lyndy Moore gathered helmets for renters to use from the Orange County Parks, Seminole County Safe Kids, Brevard MPO, Children’s Safety Village/Safe Kids, and even one from Malissa Mccreedy!  We finished the bike hanging frame and got the slat wall up.  We got most of the signs and banners up or on bikes donated from Barry Huss and his sign company.  I fabricated the pedal risers, more crank shorteners, universal joints that mount to the back of Sun Trikes and Hase Trets to chain them together.  Check the Adaptation page for pictures.  As you can see, these will allow two or more trikes to ride as one with each rider having the ability to pedal, shift gears, and the lead rider not worrying where their special needs large child or adult is headed.  The universal joints took precedent over working on adjustable foot platforms and leg brace design but we will have them next week along with chest straps for the backrests.  January 12-13 I will be taking Bree and one of each bike down to Miami for a Rett’s Syndrome Clinical study with about 60 other Rett’s families.  We will have the bikes on display at the Princeton House Parent meeting January 15 for the families of the 220 special needs students there to see.  Any help spreading the word is greatly appreciated.  January 5^th is coming fast and we are very excited to be officially open.

January 14, 2008

Two weeks into our new business and I still feel like we are not ready to start.   The first weekend it was slow, as we were hoping, so we would have time to finish several items.   Our Grand opening was highlighted at the end of the day Sunday by the appearance of a 16 yr old girl with Rett's.  Julie is almost totally immobile with only the ability to stand rigid when not confined to her wheel chair.  We put her in a Hase Trets pull behind recumbent seat trike, strapped her in the seat, and strapped her feat in the pedals to just roll her around the shop.  It made her feat move and legs bend more than they have in probably many years.  Julie has very little hand motion and no speech but the smile on her face said it all.  Needless to say she wasn't too happy when we pulled her off the Trets but it was getting dark and her mother's world had just expanded exponentially to the point she needed time to think about how things were about to change for them.   This past weekend we were in Miami for the Rett’s clinical study and met about 50 families who have children with Retts.  It was a real pleasure meeting everyone and talking about the things we have all been through with our children.  I seemed to be the lucky one with most of the kids not being as mobile as our Breanna.  There are over 200 different mutations under the Retts umbrella that affect each child differently.  The one thing that is certain though is that we need to keep our kids moving as much as possible to delay shortening of tendons and atrophy of muscles not being used.  I truly believe we have helped Breanna by keeping her on the bike with her legs spinning a couple thousand miles a year since she was 3-4 yrs old when Retts started to take away her legs.  This added benefit coupled with the time on the bike together is irreplaceable.

At the Retts clinic I did learn that even though the recumbent seats on the Trets and Pino are great for about half the kids, the other half need more upper body support and head support.  The majority of the parents were extremely interested and many will be coming to see us soon.  I was forced to tell some of the parents to wait until I have developed a better support system to stabilize the trunk and head.  It won’t be long, and I will let everyone know when I have completed the modifications through updates on our website and the Henry Perez mailing list.  Thank you Henry for pulling all of us together and I look forward to seeing you pulling Lily on her Trets soon.

January 28, 2008

Wow, what a whirlwind two weeks.  Right after the Retts clinic we did the parent meeting at Princeton House CS, then a demo two days later.  The Orlando Sentinel was there to interview the parents, teachers, and therapists for an article we hope will appear in the paper soon.  It was amazing to see kids who have never really had the pleasure of riding a bike get so excited on their first ride.  Many have issues with wearing a helmet and would scream and fight it, then they would fight us strapping their feet down, but once they got rolling their faces just lit up.  The kids and adults had so much fun it was incredible.  The response from Princeton House families has been truly awesome; with nine families coming out the past two weekends. Combined with a couple of the families from the Retts community made for a busy weekend.  The purchases so far have put a Buddy Bike in Bradenton, a Hase Trets in Jacksonville, and a Caboose trailer bike in Oviedo.

The Trets going to Jacksonville is for a little 6 yr old girl with Retts that enjoyed the use of our new 7 point harness system that stabilized her perfectly.  She didn’t need the head support that I am still working on for some of you, but we will be making it a fixed gear/freewheeling optional pedaling motion to force her legs to move when you choose.  On the same adaptive line, I am working on a trailer design for a girl in Gainesville that cannot move her legs and needs 100% support.  Since the child trailer won’t work, this is a fully custom design that will have no pedals and will simply be a rolling shell to support a Special Tomato positioning seat.  This will give you the option to use one if you already have one plus insurance or med waiver typically covers them as a medical necessity for feeding.  The seat also comes in 5 sizes to fit everyone snugly as you can see at the adaptive mall website.

Today was the first time we had almost all the bikes rented out which we know will become an issue once the word starts to really spread.  Our facility is a great location in the park next to the playground but is a small building that is already packed with just the 40+ bikes we already have.  We know we need more bikes, but funds and space will be an issue for awhile so please be sure to call ahead of time, leave a message and we will get back with you as soon as possible during the week.  Call ahead on the weekends and we will be able to tell you what’s available at the time you’re coming out.

March 22, 2008

The Orlando Sentinel article was printed and posted on their website.  This produced a tremendous response of calls and emails across the country along with bringing more people out.  This did have one negative effect on available time to continue development of the trailer I mentioned earlier and other products along with updating our website.  Sunday seems to be the most attended day for special needs children so starting in April we will be closed Saturday but open all day Sunday 8am to 6pm instead.  This will allow me time to build more stuff and accomplish the goals I set out earlier.

The one thing I did finish was the clutch and adapting the Hase Trets to dual purpose as both a pull behind and as a stroller.  This will allow pushing a person around in the Trets at slower speed than pulling them to adapt their legs to the motion before committing them to a bike ride that may be too much to start.  This kit will include the clutch, flip down swivel wheel, and handle.  This used in conjunction with the typical adaptive pedal/leg braces and body harnessing as needed has been the best option for the majority of the kids.  Latest purchase was for an 8 yr old that is totally immobile with breathing tube, G-tube, and legs are very tight from not having moved in years.  Thankfully his mom is determined to get him outdoors either pulling him behind her trike with his legs not spinning yet or walking him while spinning his legs real slow to start the process of loosening his legs back up.

We promise to update our Adaption Page with all these products so you can see pictures of what I am talking about.  Next will be the adaption of adult size Sun Tricycles to recumbent trailer/stroller to fit all size people in the same manner as the Trets but at a lower cost.