Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By STEVE NEWMAN
Ironwood — The Superior Health Foundation announced this past week a grant of $4,995 to the Gogebic Range Health Foundation. The Gogebic Range Health Foundation collaborated with Michigan’s Western Gateway Trail Authority to create Iron Belle Wheelers, which is a volunteer-run program that provides access to the Iron Belle Trail by offering bicycle rides to individuals who cannot ride a bicycle independently.
GRHF added another $2,000 in funds, which will go toward purchase of a second bicycle that is equipped to give the handicapped a bicycle ride. According to Wheelers’ president Doug Hippe, the goal of having the special bicycles is to get as many people using the bicycle trail as possible.
The bicycle, which is known as a Duet wheelchair bicycle, is a three-wheeled bicycle with the ability to put a rider with a wheelchair on the front. The “pilot” or driver can pedal or use the electrical assist motor to drive the bike around. According to Hippe, the bicycle rides have been “a huge hit” this past year as the group made appearances at area nursing homes.
Hippe told of giving a ride to a resident at Gogebic Medical Care Facility in Wakefield last year. The resident was apprehensive about riding on the bike. “He was really reluctant. But after we got going, he loved it,” Hippe said. “It was all he could talk about for the next 2-3 weeks.”
According to Hippe, the bike was first spotted by Ironwood city manager and bike enthusiast Scott Erickson. As he talked to other cyclists in the area, Hippe got interested. “Bicycling and helping are both passions of mine,” Hippe said. Area groups were able to get one of the bicycles, which are made exclusively in the Netherlands, and began to put it to work.
This year, Hippe is hopeful to be able to offer more opportunities. “We are holding sessions to train thirteen more pilots this year,” he said. The training is necessary because of carrying people with disabilities and the need for safety. The bicycle is “pretty simple,” as a bike with two wheels in front and electric assist to make it possible to transport another person more easily.
Hippe works as a telecommuter and lives in Ironwood Township and has been active in past years in the biking group SISU Dirt Crew. He enjoys biking year-round, including fat-tire biking on trails at Powderhorn over the winter. He was willing to lead the Wheelers to “experiment” by bringing in the new equipment.
The Wheelers plan to bring the special bikes to nursing home “festivals” during the year as well as showing them at community events. This past year, they were at the Bessemer Fourth of July as well as a Mother’s Day event in Depot Park.
