{"id":1445,"date":"2026-10-20T11:19:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T18:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/?p=1445"},"modified":"2026-10-20T11:19:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T18:19:00","slug":"ufv-partnership-opens-new-paths-to-inclusion-through-adaptive-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/ufv-partnership-opens-new-paths-to-inclusion-through-adaptive-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"UFV partnership opens new paths to inclusion through adaptive cycling\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was originally published here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

The University of the Fraser Valley is partnering with Tourism Chilliwack, the City of Chilliwack, and Indigenous partners <\/span>Ts\u2019elxw\u00e9yeqw Tribe and St\u00f3:l\u014d Research and Resource Management <\/span>on a project that will help people with diverse physical abilities enjoy the natural beauty surrounding UFV\u2019s Chilliwack campus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Adaptive Cycling Project provides free access to specialized bikes, removing a significant barrier that has prevented some people from experiencing the Vedder Rotary Trail, a picturesque path running along the Vedder River behind the campus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChilliwack is incredibly fortunate to have access to places in St\u00f3:l\u014d T\u00e9m\u00e9xw, such as the Vedder River and the beautiful trail network that surrounds it,\u201d says Lara Duke, UFV\u2019s dean of Health Sciences. \u201cBut a shared community is only truly shared when everyone can experience it. That\u2019s what makes this project so meaningful.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Left to right: Kinesiology students Harman Boparai, Amanda Lukiv and Henry Fu \u2014 along with faculty members, Michael Gaetz, director and professor of kinesiology, and Karen Natho, kinesiology instructor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three UFV kinesiology students and alumni \u2014 Harman Boparai, Amanda Lukiv and Henry Fu \u2014 along with faculty members, Michael Gaetz, director and professor of kinesiology, and Karen Natho, kinesiology instructor, have completed training to support people participating in adaptive cycling.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amanda, a third-year student who enjoys mountain biking and spending time outdoors, jumped at the opportunity to get involved.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love coaching and teaching, and if I can make an activity more accessible to the community by volunteering my time, that\u2019s something I\u2019ll jump on,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve had lots of good coaches and teachers in my life, and I know what a difference it makes when you\u2019re taught by someone who loves what they do, and knows how to explain things and be patient, and that\u2019s what I hope I bring to this.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an excellent opportunity to do something different, and I strongly believe the more experiences I can have in life, the better.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The program has five bikes available, representing three different models. Four are hand-powered, with electric assist, to make pedalling easier for people with injuries that affect the functioning of the lower limbs who have sufficient upper-body strength. The fifth is a foot-powered recumbent bike.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been awesome learning to use these bikes,\u201d Henry says. \u201cI\u2019ve been on two wheels my entire life, and when you get on one of these, it feels the same, but more comfortable. And it\u2019s been really cool listening to our instructor, Ethan Kruegar, tell us stories about people who\u2019ve been on bikes like these.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ethan was paralyzed from the stomach down in 2010<\/span><\/a> and has spent the past 16 years promoting adaptive cycling. He says the biggest barrier is often the cost of specialized equipment, making free access to the bikes a tremendous opportunity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo be able to go out with family and friends and play on a bike at no cost, that\u2019s something that\u2019s insanely awesome,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not that long ago that a program like this was a pipe dream, a huge wish-list item for a lot of people. But what I\u2019ve seen many times is that when people are out of their mobility device and back in nature, after about 20 minutes of riding they say they\u2019ve completely forgotten they had a disability to begin with.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNature is healing.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Lara, Ethan\u2019s experiences reinforce the value of the project. She says UFV students have already benefited tremendously from spending time with him, with even more to gain through the experiential learning opportunity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re taking what they\u2019ve learned in the classroom and putting it into practice in a way that has a direct and meaningful impact in our community,\u201d Lara says. \u201cThis is exactly the kind of changemaking we want to see at UFV: students, faculty, and community partners working together to identify a need, create an opportunity, and make a real difference in people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to providing students and faculty to support the program, UFV has made land available for storing the bikes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Adaptive Cycling Project is part of the larger Good Neighbours Lhew\u00e1mel Project<\/span><\/a>, an initiative creating meaningful, culturally rooted public spaces that foster reconciliation, connection and community across Chilliwack.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rooted in the <\/span>S\u00ed:y\u00e1:ya Y\u00f3yes<\/span> (Friends Working Together) Plan, the initiative strengthens relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities through thoughtfully designed gathering spaces, storytelling elements and immersive experiences.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the community leaders taking an adaptive bike for a spin at a recent try-it-out event was UFV honorary degree recipient and Squiala Chief and CEO David Jimmie.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood Neighbours Lhew\u00e1mel Project is about understanding that this is our shared home, and that everyone should have the opportunity to experience and build a relationship with the land,\u201d he says. \u201cAdaptive cycling opens that experience to more people and creates another way for us to come together, learn from one another and care for S\u2019\u00f3lh T\u00e9m\u00e9xw.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brian Minter, chair of Tourism Chilliwack and a former UFV chancellor, says the project is a wonderful example of what can happen when community partners come together with a shared vision.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes this initiative so special is that it goes far beyond the bikes \u2014 it brings together accessibility, Indigenous storytelling, education, recreation and stewardship,\u201d he says. \u201cMost importantly, it gives more people the opportunity to experience this extraordinary landscape and feel that they belong here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Story by Eric Welsh \u2014 eric.welsh@ufv.ca<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post was originally published here. The University of the Fraser Valley is partnering with Tourism Chilliwack, the City of Chilliwack, and Indigenous partners Ts\u2019elxw\u00e9yeqw Tribe and St\u00f3:l\u014d Research and Resource Management on a project that will help people with diverse physical abilities enjoy the natural beauty surrounding UFV\u2019s Chilliwack campus.\u00a0 The Adaptive Cycling Project … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":280,"featured_media":1448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[97,142,6,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-engagement","category-inclusion","category-kinesiology","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/280"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1445"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1449,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445\/revisions\/1449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}