The Beginning

On Saturday, July 1, 2017, 15 clients, ages 19 to 45, in recovery from substance use disorder meandered into a stale meeting room at the Banyan Treatment Center in Naperville, Illinois. Draped in shorts, torn jeans, and t-shirts, most looked as if they'd just rolled out of bed, uninterested and bored. 

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"I spent two years building Pedal4Life and preparing for this day," Pedal4Life president, Ira David said. "One hopes the work is going to pay off. When they walked into that room, I thought, 'No, this is not going to work.'"

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After a 45-minute presentation introducing them to Pedal4Life, they reluctantly allowed us to transport them a few miles to a local bicycle shop where 15 new bicycles and helmets awaited their arrival.

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The store clerks properly sized each person.

 

The moment they started pedaling in the parking lot,"These people instantly transformed!" Ira David said. "I mean, they were not the same people seconds before. They were smiling, doing wheelies, they were energetic. I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

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After a brief safety talk, Ira David, three Banyan chaperones, and Pedal4Life's resident subject matter expert, Dr. Don Teater, led the 15 riders on a 10-mile ride through a Naperville forest preserve.

 

"They were singing songs within the first mile of the ride," Ira David said. "I was like, 'What is going on here?' It was so amazing I wanted to cry." 

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Our 6-week program was so popular, we extended it to 10 weeks at the participants' demands.

 

At the end of our first program, we awarded nine participants* bicycles, helmets, bike pumps, water bottles and other gear.

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Since 2017, Pedal4Life has awarded hundreds of bicycles and helped to move people toward healthier and productive lives at home, in their communities, and in the workforce.

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Click here to view our 3-step Pathway2Home.​