Photo courtesy of Westchester Parks Foundation and Thompson & Bender
Kevin Lange endured a bumpy ride, and that’s what made him happy.
Lange, who uses a wheelchair, last week tested one of two trail chairs put into use by Westchester County, New York, as part of its adaptive hiking program called Trails Without Limits. The Rockland/Westchester Journal News posted a video story about the program on lohud.com.
“It gives me the opportunity to get back out onto the trails and enjoy nature that I really can’t do in my power wheelchair,” Lange said. “It has no clearance and really is suitable only for very smooth, flat surfaces.
“It’s awesome,” he said after the test ride. “It’ll go over roots and rocks and all kinds of bumpy surfaces.”
Seth Mandelbaum, the chairman of the Westchester Parks Foundation, said the two chairs will rotate among the parks in the county to give more people a chance to use them. The foundation raised money for the program and received a grant from the Reeve Foundation.
“It’s a huge amount of freedom into the great outdoors again,” amputee Rome Leykin said after his test. “Especially for me. Sometimes I can’t always wear my prosthetics so I can’t always walk. But I do always want to be outside. And this means that I can get out there whenever I want.”
To learn more about Trails Without Limits and register, click here to visit the website.