Author Topic: Recovery Rides ( the "other" kind of recovery)  (Read 6363 times)

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Joe B

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Recovery Rides ( the "other" kind of recovery)
« on: August 25, 2011, 10:09:39 am »
A friend and fellow rider has a 20 year old son dealing with a drug dependency issue. He is currently in a program that essentially takes up all of his time during the day with intensive counseling, and the family keeps him on a short leash in the evenings. The idea is to keep him away from the people and situations that seem to lead to the problem recurring.

Recently the father got a new bike and offered the old one to the son to join our clubs' weekly ride. He is a very strong young man and after only a few weeks he  has good bike and traffic skills for someone who only ever rode BMX bikes in the neighborhood as a child. More importantly , he likes it.

The idea is to take him on an extended tour (30-60 days?) when the current "day care" style program is complete. He is excited about traveling by bike and getting his life together.  Has anyone heard of any cycling groups that have tried using the bike as another tool in recovery? We ( his father and I) are willing to do this but we are by no means behavior specialists and would prefer to join a larger group and possibly have someone with expertise as part of the process.

I have read this thread and it contains excellent advice and ideas also http://www.adventurecycling.org/forums/index.php?topic=3277.0 but last post was half a decade ago
« Last Edit: August 25, 2011, 10:33:59 am by Joe B »

Offline Kittery Rider

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Re: Recovery Rides ( the "other" kind of recovery)
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2011, 12:05:49 pm »
I searched but nothing came up.  Honestly, I would hit a local aa or na meeting and introduce yourself and pose the question.  They are a very friendly understanding bunch and might be able to help.  They/we  have a huge network of help and friends.  John
"Too much of everything is just enough"
                 Jerry Garcia

Offline bogiesan

Re: Recovery Rides ( the "other" kind of recovery)
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2011, 12:15:29 pm »
I spent a couple of minutes looking all over google (that's about an hour of realtime) for hints or clues and came up empty. All threads lead to deadends or to commercial and for-profit rehab centers where bikes were shown on the grounds of the compound.

Here's the thing: Recovery is impossible to enforce without placing the recovering individual in a locked room. Because you may not have personal experience in a 12 step program, or a support program for the family and friends of recoverying addicts, the rest of the people on the trip must be emotionally prepared to detach with love and allow whatever happens to simply happen. Speaking from experience, those of us who want to--and feel they can--help, this is very difficult because we think we can control the individual. Your motives are worthy but it's not a trip I'd do without everyone receiving extensive training in, as you say, behavioral specialization.

There simply MUST be a therapy and recovery group that offers bicycling experiences. I hope you find one soon. Please consider coming back and telling about this adventure if you get to do it.

I play go. I use Macintosh. Of course I ride a recumbent

Offline happyriding

Re: Recovery Rides ( the "other" kind of recovery)
« Reply #3 on: August 29, 2011, 07:49:19 am »
Not what you asked for, but check out this tour:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1r4vFZo&doc_id=8396&v=dc

Joe B

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Re: Recovery Rides ( the "other" kind of recovery)
« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2011, 10:06:11 am »
Thanks "Happy" , great link to the journal, great pictures and great writing. Found myself reading about 1/2 of it right off the bat and I plan to return and read the rest. For the ride I am looking towards, as of right now we have not found a group that uses the touring experience as a way of insulating newly recovered folks from their old (bad) habits/ (bad) friends, or (bad) places. Nor have we found a group that is comprised of solely of long time clean/sober riders.

My overwhelming sense is that this is an unmet niche market for tours. Should I decide to explore the feasibility of creating such a group I will certainly post about it.  
« Last Edit: August 29, 2011, 10:09:34 am by Joe B »