Nine years ago, Andrew McLindon started a foundation to give bikes to kids with disabilities. We emailed with him months ago hoping for the off-chance that we might pass through Baton Rouge and he might be available to meet with us. Responsive from the start, he set up a time for us to all come to his office and talk about what kinds of bikes work best for children with different disabilities. For those who don’t know, G has a rare type of muscle disease (a myopathy) that makes it hard for her to run, jump or exert herself without fatiguing. So riding a typical bike has never worked. Instead, we have a WeeHoo attachment that connects her to one of our bikes. But she’s always wanted her own, so she can ride beside her brother or by herself independently.

We never thought we’d leave with a bike. Andrew had said they didn’t have any in stock at that time and we really just hoped to learn more about adaptive bikes. But as we were talking with Andrew, he paused and then, before we knew it, he had taken us to the warehouse. He’d forgotten about one bike that was in the back and, as luck would have it, this was just the type that G needed.

She has named her bike Tomato, and she absolutely loves it. We had planned to go into Baton Rouge to see the state capital and other sites but both kids wanted to stay at our campsite to try out her new wheels. So Baton Rouge will have to wait, but G won’t have to any longer.

Muscle disease is the worst. But sometimes people are just the best. Huge thanks to Andrew and the Baton Rouge-based McLindon Family Foundation. If anyone’s looking for another charity to support, this one has zero administrative costs since it is entirely run by Andrew and his family. All the donations go straight to getting bikes to kids who wouldn’t otherwise get to ride.