Recommendations. Reflections. Advocacy.
Support Claire Facing adversity is the acid test of our character. At no time in my life has this been more true than when confronted with the impact of a rare disease called facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD or FSH). As muscle groups from the face to the feet atrophy, affecting my ability to walk, lift, … Continue reading Bending Focus: Lessons from a Rare Disease
Support Claire A woman on a mobility scooter, her husband on a bike, and their caregiver in a transport vehicle roll into a parking lot of the Grand Canyon when a stranger approaches them and says, "I'm disabled, but you're more disabled than I am. Good for you for seeing the park." (No joke.) The … Continue reading How to Successfully Engage with People with Disabilities
Support Claire This is a spin for the bucket list! With breathtaking vistas of ancient sandstone formations flanked by scented junipers spiring into bright blue Arizona sky – some of the most photographed scenery in the world – this scooter ride is spectacular! Getting There From Phoenix, take the I-17 north, exit 298 onto SR-179 … Continue reading Scootering Sedona’s Red Rock Scenic Byway (Arizona SR 179)
Support Claire McDowell Mountain Road McDowell Mountain Road The longer the pandemic lingers globally, the more my husband Lou and I discover places to spin locally. In doing so in 2021, we came upon a favorite new route: McDowell Mountain Road, a super scenic, eight-mile stretch connecting Fountain Hills to Rio Verde, AZ. Mountainous southwestern … Continue reading Our Favorite Spin of 2021
Support Claire Not far from Scottsdale lies a scenic gem of the Tonto National Forest known as Needle Rock Recreation Area. Its sole byway is Needle Rock Road. Pictures don't do justice to the beautiful vistas that unfold along this 3-mile stretch, (though I will certainly post a few). Four Peaks in the … Continue reading Spinning Scenic Needle Rock Rd – Rio Verde, AZ
Support Claire Traveling differently abled has never been better. ADA legislation coupled with ever growing consumer demand has greatly improved the availability of quality accessible travel in the USA and abroad. That said, as someone who travels as often as possible while managing FSH muscular dystrophy, I find that the following measures best ensure successful … Continue reading Top Tips When Booking Accessible Travel
Support Claire Given beautiful weather, my husband and I often head to Peoria's New River Trail for some scenic urban spinning. This popular trail system has it all, including easy accessibility for mobility devices. Getting there Handicap parking and ADA restrooms are readily available at Rio Vista Community Park (8866 W. Thunderbird Road, Peoria). This … Continue reading Scootering New River Trail, Peoria, AZ
Support Claire Spoiler alert: This ADA accessible desert adventure will make others pale in comparison. It has for us. Since discovering Apache Wash Trailhead, my husband Lou and I go a couple of times a week. For spectacular spinning, it's simply one of the most beautiful accessible trail systems we've encountered in the Phoenix area … Continue reading Best Scootering in the Sonoran Desert – Apache Wash Trailhead, Phoenix
Support Claire Note: Although this post specifies my Scottsdale home base, its cautionary message applies nationwide, urging increased driver awareness of mobility device users sharing the road. Dangerously so, it happened again this morning: Scottsdale drivers came close to hitting my mobility scooter while I was transiting a crosswalk. Many of these chronic traffic violators … Continue reading Scottsdale: Hell on Wheels
Support Claire Mobility is nobility in any form it takes, including riding a mobility scooter. Whether I'm cruising around the block for some fresh air or scootering the biking trails of a national park, I'm happy to be moving on my own accord. Pride Pursuit To that end, my candy apple red Pride Pursuit mobility … Continue reading 10 Top Tips for Buying a Mobility Scooter
Support Claire Blooming brittlebrush, hummingbirds tipping the tops of Palo Verde trees, the occasional equestrian, beautiful ironwork bridges, mountain vistas and accessible paved trails for any kind of mobility device...there are plenty of reasons why spinning The Loop in Tucson is addictive outdoor adventure. With a network of 120 miles of shared-use paths (soon to … Continue reading Top ADA Spins Along The Loop in Tucson, AZ
Support Claire Accidents happen, even red scooter accidents. In mid January, I fell off my zippy mobility scooter after taking a curbed curve too quickly and fractured my pelvis in three places. Ouch! After a brief hospital stay, I was transferred to Sante of North Scottsdale where I convalesed for over a month. What follows … Continue reading Rehabbing at Sante of North Scottsdale
Support Claire The unassuming city of Cottage Grove is the home of one of Oregon’s most gorgeous recreational multi-use trails, the Row River Trail. The paved, mostly flat path offers the perfect adventure: spectacular scenery, interesting history and great accessibility for mobility devices of all kinds. It’s a perennial day trip from Portland for my … Continue reading Scootering the Row River Trail, Oregon
Support Claire Karma? Serendipity? Call it what you will… I’ve only written to one celebrity in my life, Jane Fonda, and that was just a few months ago (read below). Then, last night at dinner in Ashland, Oregon I shook hands with her. Lovely lady. My post to Jane Fonda's website on embracing one’s inner … Continue reading “Scooter Person” Jane Fonda
Support Claire In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous. – Aristotle Although the entire 21-mile Banks-Vernonia State Trail has felt the tred of my red scooter tires, the section my husband and I return to most frequently starts at the Vernonia Lake adjunct. (See map.) Super accessibility The paved loop around … Continue reading Accessible Adventure at Vernonia Lake and Banks-Vernonia State Trail, Oregon
Support Claire "To die will be an awfully big adventure." —Peter Pan She wouldn’t tell me why she was scared. She didn’t need to; I knew why: Nudgemamma ("Nudgie" for short), Hungarian for "grandma," was there to die, transition, pass on, kick the bucket, go off the grid, whatever you want to call not living … Continue reading Where do we go from here?
Support Claire After wintering in the desert, it was great to reacclimate to the luscious Pacific Northwest with one of our favorite ADA accessible outings, one we’ve done over a dozen times: rolling a section of the Springwater Corridor into and around downtown Portland’s riverfront. Scenic cityscapes peek through punctuated clearings of natural wetlands, making … Continue reading Accessible Bridges and Boardwalks, Portland, OR
Support Claire Of the twelve southwestern national parks encompassed within The Grand Circle, Zion is the jewel in the crown. Here are some tips to maximize accessible travel for people with disabilities. Get yourself an Access Pass (You can thank me later.) The national parks issue an Access Pass for US citizens with permanent disabilities. You … Continue reading ADA Accessible Zion National Park
Support Claire The glorious wonders of Kartchner Caverns are accessible to everyone, including people who mobilize with a wheelchair, scooter or cane. People like me. I charged up my red power chair for spelunking into the unassuming Whetstone Mountains, and with the superb set up provided by the Arizona State Parks system navigated the depths … Continue reading Accessible Natural Marvels at Kartchner Caverns in Benson, AZ
Support Claire The Rio Salado Pathway connects you to some of Mesa and Tempe’s most scenic urban landscapes. Colorful to say the least, this wheelchair/scooter accessible pathway offers plenty of visual surprises. I won’t give them all away, but I will say this: within an hour we marveled at everything from gray-blue cranes perched on the banks … Continue reading Scenic Urban Accessibility in Mesa and Tempe, AZ