Lose The Training Wheels… and see where they go!
The Down Syndrome Foundation of Florida partners with iCan Shine to bring Central Florida much more than just a bike-riding program. The mission of this camp is to teach individuals with Down syndrome and other unique abilities to ride a conventional two wheel bicycle and become lifelong independent riders. This achievement, in turn, creates a gateway of opportunity, helping them gain assurance and self-reliance in many other aspects of their lives. For many people, it’s a seemingly impossible task to master but with this program 80% of the participants usually do it in less than a week’s time. Within days of learning to ride, many individuals begin exhibiting independent behaviors at home.
Learning to ride a two wheel bicycle has many benefits, some obvious and some not so obvious including:
- Increase in self esteem & self confidence
- Inclusion opportunities
- Positive change in family dynamics
- Improved quality of life through recreation
- Independent transportation
- Improved physical fitness
A brief history of our iCan Shine partners
Their adapted bicycling program had its genesis in the more than 20 years of research by Dr. Richard E. Klein and his students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Richard retired from his academic career at the University of Illinois in 1998 and the first bike camp was held in 1999 in LaCrosse, WI. In the ensuing years, Dr. Klein and his wife, Marjorie, invested a significant portion of their lives in growing the program to three fleets of bikes and approximately 30 camps in 2006. Today these camps are held in 80 cities around the USA and Canada. With their new identity, iCan Shine, they plan to expand their program offering to include other activities such as swimming.
Months of planning and hours of volunteering lead to confidence to last a lifetime
Learning to ride a bicycle can be a frightening endeavor. During iCan! Bike camps, children learn to balance, pedal, steer and take off on their own, many in five days or less – a feat parents say is nothing short of miraculous, considering many struggle for years to teach their children how to ride a two wheel bicycle. When you enroll your child in an iCan! Bike camp, they will be assigned to a 75-minute riding session, which they will attend each of the 5 days. During this time, they will ride a bicycle that gradually introduces the natural instability of the bike as each child is ready. They will be assigned volunteers who will serve as their “spotters” to provide physical support, motivation, and encouragement.
While all individuals learn at their own pace, some will be ready to ride on two wheels as soon as the third day of camp, and historically more than 80% of children who attend our camps are able to independently ride a bicycle by the end of the five days. The goal of our program is to teach individuals to ride so that they can be independent riders. In other words, they have sufficient riding skills that they can start, ride, and stop their bike without any outside assistance. If you would like to enroll your child in an iCan! Bike camp please review the requirements for participation and indicators for success below and refer to our schedule for information about how to enroll in each of the camps we are currently offering.
Requirements for participation:
To ensure the safety of our participants and to help families determine if their son/daughter is ready for bike camp we have established certain criteria that all participants must meet to be eligible to attend a camp. These criteria are:
- Participant is at least 8 years of age
- Participant can walk without an assistive device such as a walker or cane
- Participant is able to side step quickly to both sides
- Participant is able and willing to wear a properly fitted bike helmet at all times when on a bicycle.
- Participant has a minimum inseam measurement of 20” when measured from the floor wearing sneakers.
- Participant does not weigh more than 220 lbs.
- Participant can follow instructions and comply with authoritative figures / volunteers when asked.
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Tour of Champions Bowl-A-Thon
Tour of Champions Bowl-A-Thon
