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Adaptive bicycles at PenMet Rec Center will allow everyone to enjoy the trails

There are times when Shu-Fang Newman wants to commune with nature.  But the wheelchair she uses to get around can limit those interactions.

That’s where the nonprofit Outdoors For All helps out. With its adaptive bicycles, Newman, a Seattle resident, can go further by herself than the batteries on her wheelchair allow.

Starting May 1, people with disabilities age 7 and older will be able to come to Gig Harbor, too, and explore the trails on their own. Outdoors For All will make 20 adaptive bicycles available free to anyone who comes by.

“As a wheelchair user, normally it’s difficult for us to reach nature,” Newman said. “It’s very important to me. I can ride near nature. It’s difficult without an adaptive bike. When I can ride, I can touch the wildflowers, I can reach them.

“It’s so important to me. It’s a new sensation. I benefit from that.”

Outdoors For All Foundation, a nonprofit, provides adaptive equipment from bicycles to skis to individuals with disabilities. Starting in May adaptive bicycles will be available free through September at PenMet Parks recreation center.

Adaptive bikes near Rec Center

Adaptive bicycles will be available at the Cushman Trail access near Peninsula Metropolitan Parks District’s Recreation Center at 2524 14th Ave. Marissa Bower, Outdoors for All Foundation’s senior events and marketing director, said the location offered just the right kind of safe, car-free access to trail riding that Outdoors for All requires.

“We have been intentional about identifying communities where there is both a need and strong partnership potential,” Bower said. “We have also seen that the success of our Adaptive Cycling Centers is closely tied to location. Access to safe, car-free trails is essential in creating a welcoming environment where riders can feel comfortable and confident exploring.”

The nonprofit offers a fleet of bicycles to support a range of abilities, Bower said. It has bicycles called handcycles for people with lower limb impairment; recumbent and therapy trikes; hand- and foot-powered trikes for children; tandem bikes; and standard two-wheeled bicycles.

First in Pierce County

The Cushman Trail location will be the first in Pierce County to offer adaptive cycles, said Brynn Grimley, PenMet operations director.

PenMet Parks has hosted the nonprofit in the past, Grimley said. The district is adding a storage facility to the backside of the recreation center for these bikes, which will be available through Sept. 30, she said.

Outdoors for All and PenMet will make 20 adaptive bicycles available on the Cushman Trail starting May 1.

“There are people in our community who would love the opportunity to get on adaptive equipment,” Grimley said “This program gives people the opportunity to go on a bike. We know that when we do offer adaptive bikes, families have shared with us that there’s interest.”

Newman, 65, has friends who live in Gig Harbor and plans to take advantage of the free cycles. She’s looking forward to the trek.

“Bicycling gives me confidence and a sense of independence when I’m out and on a bike,” Newman said. “I can go with my friends to bike now. I encourage people with disabilities who need a special bicycle to go out there and find one that fits you.”