By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington woman who beat cancer knows it can be a bumpy ride.

Now, Barb Brown wants to help smooth the ride for others who are battling illness. Brown said she had a revelation when she battled cancer in 2012.

“I wasn’t able to get out,” Brown said. “I’m a very active person. I’m usually hiking and biking and wasn’t able to do that. Just walking to the corner was difficult. It made me start to think about being homebound.”

After she heard about a two-seat bike chair her sister saw in Nantucket, Mass., she decided to try to bring it to Bloomington. Her church, Wesley United Methodist in Bloomington, helped front the money for two $10,000 bikes that enable volunteers to offer bike rides along Constitution Trail for anyone who has a difficult time getting around.

“We are very grateful for them,” Brown said, noting her Bible study group was the first to donate $200. “It is considered a mission, but it is a mission of service.”

In these two-seat bikes, someone in the backseat pedals so the person in front can simply sit and enjoy the ride.

Brown said the free rides are intended for the elderly and disabled.

“We don’t have a whole lot of boundaries that way,” Brown said. “We really just want to get people on the trail.”

Healing Rides will schedule rides along Constitution Trail starting May 30. Brown has trained about 20 volunteers to offer the rides. Volunteers must undergo two hours of training, six hours of riding a bike chair and pass a test.

Brown said businessman Erik Prenzler is offering free storage of the bikes in a shed along the trail.

You can sign up for a ride at www.healingrides.com or call Wesley UMC at (309) 827-8045.

“The whole thing has been so exciting, such a blessing to me,” Brown said.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].