By Jameson O’Neal
The Gazette
CAMP COURAGEOUS, IOWA – Ryan Blum let out a long, loud, happy howl as he and his cycling partner hurtled down the hilly parking lot here on a recent warm, overcast afternoon.
The shout startled birds in the woodlands surrounding the rural Monticello camp and sparked peels of laughter among campers, staff members and volunteers taking part in a project that extends the joys of cycling to people of all abilities.
Steve Thunder-McGuire, an associate professor of art and art education at the University of Iowa, is the chain-cranking force behind Tandem Stories Quest, a multipronged project that uses recumbent tandem tricycles as tools for liberation, personal challenge and sensitivity training.
Thunder-McGuire, an extraordinarily fit and energetic 46-year-old who cycles up to 10,000 miles a year, was drawn to recumbent trikes because the stability and comfort they afford allow him to travel long distances.
He often took his son Chris Baur-McGuire, an Iowa City West High School student who has cerebral palsy, on rides in a trailer attached to one of his cycles. In time he became intrigued by the possibility of giving Chris, 19, and other people of limited abilities a way to participate more directly in cycling.
His research led him to Greenspeed, an Australian maker of solo and tandem recumbent tricycles, and DaVinci Designs, a Denver-based company that pioneered the independent coasting drive train, a system that permits tandem cyclers to contribute to the propulsion of their vehicles without pedaling in sync.
Thunder-McGuire and Tom Teesdale, a custom bicycle frame maker in West Branch, have used designs and parts from those companies to develop tandem recumbent trikes and add-on amenities that serve the needs of people with various limitations.
The trikes can cost up to $6,500, but Thunder-McGuire produces them for thousands less by donating his labor.
Thunder-McGuire gave one of the trikes he built to Iowa City West for use by special education students. He and program volunteer Dennis Corwin, a retired principal of the Center for Disabilities and Development at UI, take other trikes to schools and parks to open more doors to adventure.
An avid storyteller, Thunder-McGuire encourages cyclists and riders to tell of their experiences through essays, works of art and videos shot with frame-mounted video cameras – hence the name Tandem Stories Quest.
“One of the goals is to provide opportunities for able-bodied students to work with disabled students, for the disabled students to get out and have an experience and make that experience something more by being able to compose it, reflect on it, tell stories from it,” he said.
The program helps student volunteers move past their fear of interacting with people whose abilities, appearance, conduct and needs are different from their own.
“Most people are intimidated by what to say, how to work with someone with a disability,” Thunder-McGuire said. “Cycling breaks barriers by making mandatory conversation. If you’re a student and you’re working with a developmentally disabled or physically disabled student as a tandem partner, real quick you have to find out what the person is getting out of the experience, what you can do with them.
“You’re forced into a kind of conversation and partnership that’s purposeful.”
Volunteers must ask direct, practical questions of their partners, such as whether they have enough leg strength to pedal and, if so, whether they need to have their feet duct-taped to the pedals. They also must learn to interpret the sounds, expressions, gestures and gazes of people who cannot speak so they can respond to distress or a wish for another lap or more speed.
Participating students with disabilities take on responsibilities in increments. Those who are able start off by pedaling from the rear seat – the “stoker” position – with a fully able captain, to captaining with a fully able stoker.
A higher-functioning participant who demonstrates competency at steering and braking may ultimately serve as captain with a peer in the stoker role.
The serious objectives of the program mesh smoothly with its playful rewards.
At the Camp Courageous outing, Thunder-McGuire and Steve Merkle, a special education teacher at West High, gave participants fast rides and light moments. As Merkle secured a participant in a back seat, Thunder-McGuire swooped near on a swift run and smacked Merkle smartly on the butt.
When Thunder-McGuire and his partner rolled past on their next lap, Merkle filled his mouth with bottled water and squirted an arcing stream on his competitor.
Brandon Clark, 19, of North Liberty, picked up on the spirit of good-natured ribbing, flipping trash talk at friend Derek Hotka, 16, of Coralville, as the two crossed paths with their partners: “Wimp! Loser! You want a piece of me?”
Ryan Blum, 14, of Walnut, relishes the rare thrill of cycling. The brother of Tyler Blum, a state-champion wrestler and standout football player at Atlantic High School, Ryan also appreciates the chance to push himself.
Volunteer-student pairs from West High and City High are training to compete on recumbent tandem trikes at the state Special Olympics, which will be held Thursday to Saturday in Ames.
This story ran in the Gazette of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa, on May 18, 2004.