M
ost people vividly remember their
first time riding a bicycle. The
sense of pride and excitement,
the feeling of the sun overhead
or the breeze blowing by, and hearing
the cheers of a parent or sibling during
those first pedal strokes. But this mile-
stone is often missing for children with
disabilities. For them, the chance to
ride a tricycle can provide that special
moment — and it can be life-changing,
enabling a sense of mobility and person-
al freedom they may never have experi-
enced before.
Gillian Williams, founder and pres-
ident of NorCal Trykers, witnessed this
firsthand as a physical therapist at Shri-
ners Hospitals for Children in Sacra-
mento. The hospital purchased 20 adap-
tive tricycles with a grant in 2016, each
specially equipped to help children cope
with various disabilities.
One of Williams’ patients at the time
was a 10-year-old girl with cerebral pal-
sy, and the first time she tried an adap-
tive tricycle, she walked up to it with
braces on her feet and two crutches.
Williams showed her how to rotate the
pedals. “In a matter of minutes, I was
running at her side and she was laugh-
ing and giggling,” Williams says.
Physical therapists have been using
adaptive tricycles for years, according
to Williams, and parents often want to
know where they can buy the tricycles
for their children. But at a price of at
least $1,000 per tricycle, purchasing one
is usually cost-prohibitive.
Inspired to help parents and bring
more smiles to more children, Williams
founded NorCal Trykers in 2017. The
organization is dedicated to building
and donating adaptive tricycles to local
children with disabilities in the regional
school system.
NorCal Trykers is the first Northern
California chapter of AMBUCS, former-
ly known as American Business Clubs,
which provides therapeutic tricycles to
people who cannot operate traditional
bikes. Through AMBUCS, Williams can
choose from a catalogue of tricycles with
different accessories and adaptations to
“Any child can
become successful,
regardless of their
disability.”
— Gillian Williams, founder and president,
NorCal Trykers
build for children here in the Sacramen-
to region.
“Any child can become successful,
regardless of their disability,” Williams
says.
To date, NorCal Trykers has donat-
ed 42 tricycles to local families. A com-
bination of fundraising and volunteers
makes it possible to purchase and build
the adaptive tricycles.
“In our first year, we had three big
building sessions where we built 10 tri-
cycles at one time on a Saturday after-
noon with a group of volunteers,” Wil-
liams says.
Until recently, Williams says it was
a challenge to recruit volunteers and to
find places to store the tricycles, but a
NorCal Trykers board member helped
establish a local partnership with the
Yolo County Office of Education to sup-
port this need. Now, through YCOE’s
Hecho a Mano after-school program,
high school students assemble tricycles
under the supervision of credentialed
instructors.
Lori Perez, director of college and
career readiness at YCOE, says the dis-
trict was thrilled to partner with Nor-
Cal Trykers, and that the experience
helps students develop