The expressed goals of this web site are fourfold -- to educate any and all willing to listen:

1. That bike riding can be efficiently and safely taught,
2. That the universe of people capable of riding bikes is larger and less restrictive than previously realized,
3. To introduce you to some insights regarding the bicycle that may have escaped your attention up to now, and
4. To have a little fun with the bicycle as an intellectual challenge.

A Quick Road Map to This Site

1. Home -- That is where you now are.
2. Our Bike Program -- A general overview of how we go about teaching children to ride, intended for parents as well as professionals. We have some live action video of children on our various adapted bikes. Because of demand we have also pasted the links to the video clips at the bottom of this page, so if you scroll down to the bottom here you will see the links. Our purpose here is to give you a general overview of what this program is and what it involves -- and even why it is unique.
3. Info for Parents -- This is where parents need to go to. The balance of much of the web site (other than this section) is for professionals as well as those who like to know it all. Of course, parents will be able to glean information for many other portions of this web site, but we suggest this "Info for Parents" as a good place to start to understand what we are doing and what we are all about. We have included "Home Remedies," as these suggestions may help the parent at home trying things for themselves.
4. Locating a Camp -- Here we provide what most of our visitors want -- where are our camps located, our schedules, and contact information.
5. LTTW Overview -- This section maintains focus on more general issues such as the Lose The Training Wheels™ program benefits, and recognizing and dealing with constraints underlying bike riding instruction -- in essence overview issues. This section is intended primarily for advocates seeking to better understand our camps, as well as for professionals and organizations who administer camps. We have put materials in this section to permit the professional to better evaluate if they or their charity should consider getting involved.
6. LTTW Details -- This section is addressed to administrators and other professionals who are considering becoming involved in a Lose The Training Wheels™ adapted bike program.
7. About Us -- This section contains "Contact Us" information and provides the usual surface mail address and link information in order to send us an electronic message. This section also provides information about who we are, our professional backgrounds, and also about some of the professionals with whom we collaborate in order to run adapted bike programs.
8. Bicycle Science -- This last section is for the hardy and scientifically inquisitive. We have tried to compress twenty years or more of university level research on bicycles into about this heading, so it is a packed portion of our web site. Thing of it as being analogous to reading a text. We've included this Bicycle Science section primarily as a reference source for the technically inclined as well as for those seeking to seriously educate themselves about how and why a bike works.

A SAMPLE LETTER OUT OF THE MAILBOX

The following e-mail was received from a parent of a special needs child. We feel that this parent's e-mail sums up the situation that many parents find themselves in. They just sense that their child should be able to ride a bike, and yet somehow the fears and obstacles are too menacing. Some barrier seems to stand in the way. Their child is denied in so many ways -- because the child can't learn how to ride a bike safely and efficiently.

Dr. Klein,
I recently saw you featured in Midwest Living (November/December 2004, p. 14) and thought of my nine-year-old son, who has proprioceptive issues. He has made such tremendous strides in other areas. But, he is now embarrassed to ride at all, since he still needs training wheels. So he’s left behind when the neighbor kids want to ride or play many sports. He’s petrified with fear at the idea of raising them; he dislikes the unbalanced feeling. I’d love to learn more about the classes. Where are they offered? Are there techniques we can try at home?
Thanks for all the good work you do.
Name withheld -- Indianapolis IN

Our belief is that a solution is now at hand for this parent as well for the so many others with similar circumstances.

The parent in Indianapolis (letter above) also asks a very important question: "Are there techniques we can try at home?" As you browse the web site you will come across our answer. Hint -- Click on the tab "Info for Parents," and then click on the sub-section "Home Remedies."

With that said, welcome to our web site and enjoy your browsing.

Some Advice for our First-Time Visitors: If you happen to be bewildered and wondering just where to start, one suggestion is to go to the section "Our Bike Program," and then click on the sub-heading "Video." We have installed some representative video clips of children riding our various adapted and regular bikes. You are also encouraged to go to "Info for Parents," and then go to the sub-section "Meet Kids." We highlight a dozen or so children and tell you their stories in brief overview. Actually, we don't say too much as the smiles and action say it all.

Photo Credits. Each page that you bring up will show photos in the left sidebar from our various camps and programs. The particular photos that pop up each time will vary according to a random draw (out of a collection of over 200 photos). The majority of these photos were taken at two camps, one in Fond du Lac (Wisconsin) in August 2004, and the other in Utica NY in October 2003. We are grateful to Mary Christenson and John Crowter, respectively, for the many pictures taken. As time permits we anticipate freshening up the web site with more recent photos.

Copyright Notice. All Contents of this web site are Copyright (2004-2008) by Rainbow Trainers, Inc., and these rights are granted under contract to Lose the Training Wheels, Inc., of Mclean VA. All Rights Reserved. The name "Lose The Training Wheels™" is considered and used as a trademark. All rights reserved.

This web site was last visited and upgraded on April 9, 2008, 9:00 PM CST.

We will close by pasting in an e-mail comment received from a parent and activist --

"Do you realize how convicted I was (about the validity of your program) when I realized I was searching 3,900 sites on the Internet for a bike my son (with issues) could ride instead of even thinking once he might actually be able to ride a regular bike? Boom!"
Doreen Sigman, from Brunswick GA

HERE ARE SOME VIDEO CLIPS!

All of the video clips below play through Windows Media Player. THIS IS A REPEAT OF THE SAME CLIPS POSTED IN THE "OUR BIKE PROGRAM" SECTION. To watch a video please click on a link:

• Child Using Double Roller Trainer
  See a double-roller trainer in action. This is the adapted trainer bike, with double rollers and relatively flat rollers, that we use when the more challenged children start in our program. This child is non-verbal. He attended our camps in Utica NY in 2003 and 2004. His medical diagnosis is not clear to us, as he has a number of issues. In general, it would be fair to say that the child has autism spectrum characteristics (but we are not medical doctors so we are not exactly sure). The process of learning to ride a bike for this child required attendance at several camps and over a span of several years. In addition, the very dedicated adapted physical educator (Helen Robinson, A.P.E.) worked with the boy during the school year in order to get even things like wearing a helmet to be acceptable to the child. Yes, he did learn to ride a two-wheeler. We plan on posting additional footage of this boy as he progresses and eventually graduates to a conventional bicycle. From our perspective, this child represents one of the more challenging children with whom we have worked -- and he now rides a two-wheeler. Of course, he will never be an independent rider as he requires supervision while riding, but he justs loves riding a bike and doesn't want to get off.

• Single Roller Trainer
  The Single Roller Trainer has a crowned roller in the rear and a conventional front tire. As the adaptation becomes less, in the sense of being more like a conventional bike, two things occur -- (1) the bike is slightly more "tippy" meaning the children experience more challenge, and (2) the bike with fewer adaptations becomes more agile and maneuverable -- and thus more like a regular bike. Children who have mastered the double roller advance then to a series of single roller bikes. Moreover, many of the entering children have sufficiently good motor skills and less fear so many start on the single roller trainer directly without the need for the double roller trainer. This video clip was recorded at our Warren MI camp in June 2005 for children with Down syndrome. The spotter is Sue Reimers, Certified Adapted Physical Educator, from Winters CA.

• Be Ready to Run
  The volunteers at Lose The Training Wheels Bike camps need to run to be able to keep up with the riders. We have assembled a number of clips all taken at our Easter Seals DuPage camp (west of Chicago) in summer of 2005. Again, notice how active and attentive the spotters need to be to stay with the children. When we are first getting children transitioned onto conventional two-wheelers, we focus on just the essentials -- pedalling, eyes forward, and maintaining balance using steering -- and not shoulder/body shifting so common when kids ride with training wheels. Once this goal is achieved then we work on additional tasks such as braking, starting, and obstacle avoidance. Until then the spotters need to be running and ready to provide the safety for the child.

• Dual Tandem Trainer and Other Bikes

See a variety of bikes and kids as they progress through the program. You will be able to sense the excitement in these children as you see the smiles and even one boy bouncing as he rides in utter joy!
• Noot Rides
  The child in this video is a double, lower extremity congenital amputee. As you will see he learned to ride! His name is "Noot." Noot attended our camp in Fond du Lac WI in the summer of 2004. Noot is a natural philosopher, as in this video footage he shares his wisdom as to what it takes to ride a bike. Be sure to have your volume turned on as Noot talks about riding a bike.

WHAT WE HAVE POSTED ABOVE IS BUT A SMALL SAMPLING. ENJOY!