Kathryn Hartery, 14, has waited years to learn how to ride her bike. And as she watched her next-door neighbors play outside on their bikes this summer, she became determined to join them someday.
That someday is today. In less than five days, Hartery has grown from being an unschooled bicyclist to a master on her two-wheeler in the parking lot of Conard High School in West Hartford, courtesy of the iCan Bike program.
The five-day camp, hosted by the Miracle League of CT, teaches people with disabilities to ride a bike through five 75-minute bike-riding sessions. With the help of volunteers, almost every student rides away on their bike with no assistance.
Mike Michaud, executive director of Miracle League of CT, says that the “miraculous program,” which ended Friday, comes with a lot of unexpected benefits that go beyond just the health and wellness of students.
“It’s a milestone in every kid’s life to learn to ride a bike. It’s something that a lot of families take for granted,” Michaud said. “Before this, [children] had to sit by the wayside and watch their friends ride off on a bike. But the confidence that is gained here can translate to so many other things.”
For Wolfgang “Wolfie” Parsons, it means opening himself up to new experiences. In addition to learning how to ride a bike for the first time this year, Parsons will be participating in Miracle League’s theater program and signing up for regular swim lessons.
While many of these ideas originated from his mother, Heidi Adams, Parsons is taking them on with fresh enthusiasm.
“He’s a jerky teenager and with that, comes the great responsibility of waking up late, not wanting to get out of bed, just being a general slug. But for the past three or four days, I’ve been knocking on his door at 7 in the morning and he’s up and ready to go. That in itself is a big change,” Adams said.
The 13-year-old admits that his first few days of the program were challenging. “I fell over once and it felt like I broke every bone in my body. I did not, but it sure felt like I did,” he said. But his new wounds are his badges of honor.
Adams jokes, “We are now all part of the same fraternity of people that fell off their bikes.”
Parsons has partial hearing loss, autism and attention deficient disorder. Adams acknowledges that the combination is “an ever-opening lotus flower of issues,” but the Miracle League programs and iCan Bike have made it possible for her son to gain essential life experiences.
“I don’t see [Wolfie] smile very often, and yesterday was his first day out on two wheels by himself. The wind was in his face and he was really, really doing it. I just couldn’t believe the happiness radiating from this child. You couldn’t stop it. It was absolutely amazing,” Adams said.
With his helmet strapped on and a volunteer jogging alongside him, Parsons took several laps around the parking lot — some coupled with the occasional wipeout into a plastic barrier. Despite this, Adams remained excited for her son.
“It’s not just good exercise. It’s not just fun. This is freedom, independence. When he’s 16 years old and wants a job but not quite mastered driving, now he can go wherever he needs to go. If he has a friend he wants to go see, he can go,” she said. “The other day, he said to me, ‘Mom, I think I’m going to go west.'”
Though Parsons is not specific on the details of his journey west, his plan is armed with newfound confidence from learning how to ride his bike.
“Now I feel like if someday I’m not around to cart him everywhere he needs to go, he can get where he needs to,” Adam said while watching her son cruise around the parking lot. “Someday he can go anywhere he wants.”