About
What is Pedal4Life?
A Recovery, Media & Workforce Development Nonprofit
OUR HISTORY
(2015 – 2016)
2015
Television executive producer and show host, Ira David Levy, creates Pedal4Life to help people recovering from substance use disorder (SUD) to live more productive lives.
Chicago nonprofit Active Transportation Alliance serves as P4L's fiscal 501 (c) (3) organization.
2016
Pedal4Life acquires its own 501 (c) (3) status.
(2017 – 2021)
2017
Pedal4Life holds its first HeroInMe Ride in Naperville, Illinois.
Banyan Treatment Center, in Naperville, partners with Pedal4Life as its local beneficiary.
Pedal4Life launches its first 6-week Pathway2Home bicycle programs for 15 Banyan participants. P4L awards 10 bicycles, helmets and gear to program graduates.*
2018
HeroInMe Ride grows to 300 participants. Olive Garden, in Naperville, volunteers to feed all the riders and volunteer crew.
Pathway2Home bicycling program expands to10 weeks. In surveys, 100 percent of participants recommend the program.
2019
Pedal4Life offers program graduates help with writing resumes and cover letters, and offers internships with Ira David Productions, llc, the Pedal America TV series, and opportunities to network.
2020-21
Covid-19 pandemic causes P4L to hold virtual HeroInMe Ride, opening registration to riders across the United States. Riders as far as Alaska join.
(2022 – 2025)
2022
While living out of state teaching journalism and directing student media at Kansas State University, Pedal4Life temporarily suspends its programs.
2024-25
Pedal4Life revises its mission toward producing documentaries and public television programming.
2026
Pedal4Life re-envisions an enhanced business model with a seamless 3-point pathway from Heroin to the HeroInYou to become a recovery, media & workforce development nonprofit.
“Many people have no place to go when they leave treatment. Working as paid production assistants and interns is a nice transition into the workforce. Our participants learn responsibility, accountability, and grow into respectable stewards and leaders in their communities and on our planet.”
Ira David Levy
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THE FULL STORY
In 2012, Ira David, executive producer and host of the national televisions series Pedal America, annually rode his bicycle in Project Hero's Honor Ride. Project Hero is a nonprofit that uses bicycling events to support 10,000 of our nation’s wounded veterans.
In 2014, Ira David produced print and video content for the National Safety Council's new campaign Prescription Drug Overdose aimed to curb over-prescribing and support its partners combatting the opioid epidemic. "I learned so much from working with subject matter experts like Don Teater and interviewing so many first responders and people in recovery," Ira David said.
During a conversation Ira David had with Project Hero's then president, John Wordin, Wordin said 61% of veterans he worked with, who had grown addicted to opiates used to treat their wounds from active duty, eliminated them from their lifestyles after they started bicycling with Project Hero.
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Bicycling repairs damaged cells and increases the body’s natural endorphins.
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Bicycling strengthens health, physical endurance, and emotional stability.
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Bicycling builds friendships founded on mutual support and shared interests in sustaining healthful lifestyles.
When Ira David learned about the positive impact bicycling had on veterans, he had an idea. "If cycling can work for veterans, it can work for civilians too," he said.
In 2017, Pedal4Life launched its first annual HeroInMe Ride fundraiser and Pathway2Home programs in Naperville.
For those in recovery to succeed, in 2019 Ira David realized he needed to pave them a longer pathway toward assimilating back into their respective communities. He helped Pathway2Home program graduates to write resumes and cover letters for landing job interviews.
Between 2020-2024, Ira David spent most of his time in Manhattan, Kansas, teaching and directing student-run media at Kansas State University. Running the HeroInMe Ride and Pathway2Home programs from afar was inefficient and P4L temporarily suspended its programs while shifting its mission more toward producing documentary and show content.
In 2024, Ira David returned to Chicago full-time and started to re-imagine a larger, stronger business model for Pedal4Life.
In 2026, Pedal4Life is restructuring its mission, its bylaws, and business model with new, active board members who have genuine interests in supporting those in recovery from substance use disorder and producing television and streaming video content for the purpose of transitioning Pathway2Home graduates into the workforce. For those in recovery, the Pathway2Home is with Pedal4Life.
Ira David saw the irony that 'hero' is the root word for 'heroin.' "I created Pedal4Life because I believe there is a hero in each of us, even those who live with substance use disorders. Everyone is worthy of realizing and using his or her inner hero to live a full life."