Celebrating the ADA: Brittany and Her Two-Wheeled Success

The Americans with Disabilities Act turns 23 this week, on July 26. To commemorate the anniversary of this groundbreaking law, we’re highlighting the stories of those who have turned to bicycling to help propel them forward in their communities, and we’ll be posting blogs every day this week. This post comes from Monica Walls, the Programs to Educate All Cyclists Summer Program Director. She shares Brittany’s story.  

Brittany is a brand new student to Programs to Educate All Cyclists (PEAC).

She has been working on her cycling skills for a few years now on her own, and she has been getting stronger and stronger. On Brittany’s first day of PEAC, we worked on walking a two-wheel bike and even balancing on one pedal as we walked around the track. Brittany was excited and had that fire in her eyes. She was determined to ride that bike.

Just as we were thinking about wrapping up for the day, we asked Brittany if she wanted to try pedaling. Of course, she said “Yes!”

While we helped her with balancing for the first couple of pedal rotations, we realized that her balance was excellent and we let go. She pedaled that bike all the way around the track! Brittany’s smile and enthusiasm were contagious. When she returned for her next session, she told us all about her family’s weekend adventures on the bike trails at the local metropark.

At this session (pictured above), she rode through the rain and we worked on weaving and bike control. Group riding and rules of the road will be our next goals for Brittany! What a rockstar!

Focusing on the continued importance of the ADA, the League is also supporting the National Disability Rights Network campaign to push Amtrak to meet ADA guidelines to create safe and complete stations. Learn more about the campaign, and please consider joining us here.