I'm going to mark my calendar for next year's Sea to Sound as soon as they tell us the dates! Day Three was beautiful and I want to do this again. What a feeling of freedom to ride for 70 miles the past 3 days, almost every last foot of it on a separated trail. http://bikestylespokane.com/2023/08/27/wheeling-sea-to-sound-day-three/
@enobacon@fbaum I've seen these done and labeled something like an empathy experience. One of my former city council members in Spokane used a wheelchair in the snow and couldn't have gotten on a bus without the kindness of strangers when the chair got stuck because the sidewalk snow hadn't been cleared. Even better would be simply to elect and hire people with disabilities who bring the everyday experience, not the one-off like what I had although it was valuable.
@BarbChamberlain@enobacon@fbaum We did one afternoon navigating campus in a wheelchair in my grad program, which was eye-opening but like you say no substitute for a lived experience. I think it's very different to have an able-bodied prof tell you to do it vs. being invited to ride along by a community of people who are disabled. The latter has a relationship with a disabled community as a prerequisite.
@HayiWena@BarbChamberlain@fbaum simply towing a bike trailer or riding a trike can be pretty eye-opening about where the infrastructure isn't wide enough for mobility devices. I agree it could be rough on your own, but I've seen people taking the lane on mobility scooters, who don't seem to have the same resources of an elected official or DOT staff. Listen to community sure, but we shouldn't expect disadvantaged people to volunteer to teach our well-funded carway builders that they exist.
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