Spokes Fighting Strokes

About

Spokes fighting Strokes (Spokes) introduces Recumbent Trikes as a form of recovery through exercise and fun to Stroke Survivors, amputees, able-bodied humans, and those with or who have had traumatic brain injury(TBI), neck and back injury, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis(MS), and cerebral palsy(CP). The program emphasizes overcoming fear, which the founder, Dan Zimmerman, Stroke Survivor, experienced as he began his own recovery on a Trike himself. Dan Zimmerman is a Stroke Survivor.

Categories Program Adaptive Sports Educational / Vocational Therapeutic

Program Details

Mission
Spokes's mission is to reach every stroke survivor and individual with TBI, Parkinson's, and MS to show them that recovery is possible. Through our Spokes Adaptive Cycling clinics in the USA, we help stroke survivors rebuild their life by regaining strength, ability, hope, and freedom. The goal is to make adaptive cycling available to the stroke community and increase awareness about stroke and Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), which is also the cause of the founder, Dan's, stroke.

Description
Exercise makes recovery possible and fun, which is the motivation behind Spokes’s creation of groups and chapters who ride together on a regular basis, creating great bonds and camaraderie.

Spokes has 18 recumbent trikes in our trailer, which travels the USA as we provide presentations and clinics for the introduction of recumbent trikes to participants. Presentation venues include hospitals, bike rallies, rehab centers, health expos, State Parks, support groups, and Rail to Trail's events.

Spokes has helped many individuals in their recovery. Many came from wheelchairs with Aphasia and are walking and talking again. These individuals make up only a portion of the success stories, all told from those who Spokes has touched.

The program plans for multiple chapters in each state, with interest in expanding worldwide to Australia, New Zealand, UK, and Canada.

Services Offered
While Spokes does not sell trikes, we work with shops that provide the trikes and services to provide a recumbent trike to each rider. Riders receive guidance with being fitted to the trike and are given instruction on trike shifting and braking for their first ride. Services also include maintenance, bike accessories, bike safety, road safety, lifting the trike, and loading trike. Riders always back from their first ride with a “Trike Grin”.

Contact Dan Zimmerman, Founder dan@spokesfightingstrokes.org (602) 558-0820 (contact via text only) Spokes Fighting Strokes

Populations Served
Stroke survivors, amputees, able-bodied humans, and those with or who have had TBI, neck and back injury, Parkinson’s, MS, and CP—all of any age.

Staff Composition
The staff is composed of the founder (Dan Zimmermann) and 11 volunteer Chapter Leaders.

Cost to Participate
Participation is free; donations are accepted but not solicited.

Affiliations

Georgia State University, Department of Occupational Therapy
Capstone project and seeking accreditation

Tessa Chung, OTS
tchung5@student.gsu.edu
Cell: 678-818-2898

Dr. Pey-Shan Wen, Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy Department
pwen@gsu.edu

A close-up shot of Dan riding his trike with a confident grin.

Dan and Jake happily ride their trikes along a paved desert road. Small, colorful banners flap attached to the back of their trikes flap around as they move.

Members of the Tucson AZ Spokes chapter are lined up with their trikes, waiting for the start of a ride. Little green flags are attached to each trike.

A blue 78-foot long rig, used to transport trikes and equipment.

An inside view of Spokes’s new trailer, which can hold up to 18 trikes.

A presentation and clinic pedal point rally is set up at the Hostel Shoppe on a bright, sunny day. Various trikes are lined up, ready for use by participants.

Dan and Mae—Spokes’s founder and admin/treasurer, respectively—wear wide smiles as they take a selfie.

Recent Case Studies

Aerial view shows the meandering Buffalo Bayou waterway, grassy banks, and paved walkways.

Place

Buffalo Bayou Promenade

Buffalo Bayou Promenade transformed an area beneath a busy freeway into a welcoming urban park and recreation space featuring gently sloping banks, extensive native landscaping, hiking and biking trails, public art, interpretative signage, and a new pedestrian bridge.

Adults and youth stand by a rock dam built inside a dirt path with grass on the sides and trees in the background.

Program

River Source: Watershed Restoration with New Mexico Youth and Communities

River Source supports people as good stewards of their watersheds by providing science and policy education, planning, monitoring, and ecological restoration services throughout New Mexico.

Perennial gardens are filled with plants blooming in shades of purple and pink, with a bench in the background.

Place

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Patient Tower

The landscape surrounding the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Patient Tower provides a welcoming and healing space for patients, families, and staff. Multiple garden areas offer places for quiet reflection, conversation, and play, as well as opportunities for learning about stormwater management in an urban setting.