Out for a Joy Ride

Benzie’s Joy 2 Ride adaptive cycling program provides outdoor recreation for all

By Drew VanDrie | May 11, 2024

“Like riding a bike.” While that phrase may refer to anything that’s second-nature, it also alludes to something you’ll never forget. For Carol Kraak, founder of Benzie County’s Joy 2 Ride, the exploration, independence, and bliss that a simple bike ride offers to participants of any ability is unforgettable.

Kraak has navigated mobility issues for most of her life. But pedaling through the scenic beauty of northern Michigan served as a restorative alternative to the discomfort.

“Riding a bike made me not feel the pain, and I didn’t feel a limitation,” says Kraak. She spent many of her rides on the Betsie Valley Trail, a scenic 22-mile bike path in Benzie County that stretches from Frankfort to Thompsonville. “It made me feel alive, and vibrant, and not like I was so limited,” Kraak says.

But eventually even cycling was becoming too painful, and she was forced to retire from biking in 2016. “It sort of broke me,” says Kraak, “because I thought that’s all I could do.”

That is until she read about Healing Rides, a nonprofit organization located in Bloomington, Illinois. Healing Rides is a free program that uses adaptive wheelchair bikes to offer outdoor recreation opportunities. Per their website, the organization intends to “serve the aging, people with disabilities, and anyone else unable to bike independently.”

“It just stirred in me,” says Kraak, and the inspiration to start Joy 2 Ride was put into gear.

Getting Rolling

Kraak was quick to get the wheels turning with a vision of creating a similar nonprofit—one offering free, assisted rides to all, using her beloved Betsie Valley Trail as a practical and picturesque setting for cycling.

Kraak attributes her business acumen and helpful connections to her tenure at the Benzie County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, and her support to her husband, Kevin, and daughter, Kristen, who now serves on the Joy 2 Ride board.

“So I went to my husband and daughter, my greatest cheerleaders, [and said] ‘here’s what I want to do’…and took off!” says Kraak.

In 2017, Kraak consulted NorthSky Nonprofit Network of Traverse City to evaluate program viability, and from there the formation of Joy 2 Ride moved quickly. By the end of the year, Kraak had hired a nonprofit attorney, formed a 501(c)(3) with a board of directors, and secured funding through a grant from the Benzie rotary clubs for the first Duet adaptive bicycle.

“And in 2018 we started rolling,” says Kraak. After receiving another grant from Dow Chemical, Joy 2 Ride purchased a second Duet bicycle, bringing the fleet up to two fully outfitted wheelchair bicycles.

Hitting the Trails

Joy 2 Ride typically starts rolling in early May (earlier if weather permits) and extends into the late fall. Ride length is determined by passenger preference and comfort, but usually lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Friends and relatives of passengers are also highly encouraged to ride along with their own bicycles and join in the joyful progression.

Each pair of riders (one per Duet bike) requires five volunteers: a pilot to pedal each wheelchair bike, two co-pilots which ride their own bikes in front and behind—serving as the “eyes and ears” of the group—and one individual to remain at the trailhead with equipment and family members.

The organization currently has about a dozen regular volunteers, but the need for more is always present, and Kraak instills a rigorous screening process when selecting partners. “We have such great ‘people’ people,” says Kraak. She tells us Joy 2 Ride considers “How much of a character do you have for serving others? Volunteers need to have that servant attitude.”

Kraak explains that Joy 2 Ride is not numbers driven but experience driven, striving to provide a personal and positive experience to its ridership over everything else. One metric she does point to is an organizational goal to take each resident of The Maples, a skilled nursing facility in Frankfort, out three times a season if possible.

Working in Tandem

Inclusion is a major component of Joy 2 Ride. “I was no stranger to what my mom called the misfits and the underdogs, and I thought that was me,” says Kraak.

That’s why joining with The Maples was a natural collaboration for Kraak. In 2018, she contacted Gina Dilas, the activity director of the nursing facility, and after a sit-down meeting, they settled on an inaugural ride for September of that year.

Disembarking from Elberta, the group pedaled eastbound along the trail, skirting along the Betsie River, allowing residents to observe the wildlife, the late September sunshine, and that first glimpse of leaves starting to change. From the first ride, Joy 2 Ride was an instant hit with The Maples residents. After taking 20 guests on scenic ventures in that first fall season, the program is now one of the most popular activities at The Maples.

“They love it,” says Dilas, “The residents really look forward to it every year. Right in the spring they say ‘When can we start Joy 2 Ride? When can we go on the trail?’”

But it’s not just the thrill of coasting down the shaded pathway or observing the waterfowl and wildlife along the river that makes Joy 2 Ride so special.

“They’ve built relationships with Carol and her volunteers,” says Dilas, “When [the residents] see them every spring, they have a relationship with them, they know who they are, and Carol and her volunteers are amazing!”

Kraak and Dilas worked to establish a partnership that allows the residents to participate in Joy 2 Ride at least once a week during the riding season and have formalized Joy 2 Ride into The Maples activities budget.

Joy Prevails

Making Joy2Ride a successful and safe operation is not without great effort. Kraak herself manages much of the transportation and logistics, storing the Duets and safety equipment in two trailers on her own property. She also recognizes the effort put forth by Dilas and The Maples to staff, transport, and help organize rides along with ensuring the safety, comfort, and enjoyment of guests.

Above all, Kraak expresses that the rejuvenating experiences Joy 2 Ride provides to its passengers is worth all the effort. Within a multitude of smiles, laughs, and hundreds of rides, one particular bike ride comes to mind for Kraak.

“One of my favorites was from one of our members of The Maples. We’re coming down the trail, [and] she is like that scene from Titanic! She is just smiling ear-to-ear, and her hands are both out wide. Our joke is ‘keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times,’ and she has her hands straight out, like she is flying.”

If you ask Kraak what she is looking forward to as the riding season is nearly underway, she says simply and emphatically, “Joy! Meeting new faces, inspiring people! That’s why we call it Joy 2 Ride. It’s just what we all can do a little bit more, to stop, take a bit, and go find some joy.”

To learn more, visit joy2ridebenzie.org.