State Term: Illinois
Illinois Wheelchair Bike Program Restores Health, Happiness One Ride at a Time
T.J. rides as a passenger in a wheelchair bike. He’s a participant in a community-based program called Healing Rides, which pairs disabled or elderly “guests” with trained volunteer “pedalers.”
On a summery Saturday morning, 23-year-old T.J. sets out to ride a stretch of trail in his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois. As he gathers speed on the canopied straightaways of the Constitution Trail, he shouts for joy and races the other riders. And as his tires thrum across wooden bridges, he calls out just to hear the strange vibrations of his own voice.
How May T. Watts Inspired the Illinois Prairie Path and U.S. Rail-Trail Movement
May Theilgaard Watts was a writer, illustrator, naturalist, scientist and teacher. Her determination that Americans stay connected to their natural landscape in a time of increasing urbanization was the catalyst that led to the formation of the Illinois Prairie Path,
