In this group, we will be using stretching, meditation, and cycling to help recover from surgery and injury. We will also be using cycling to help deal with depression, social anxiety and chronic pain.

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This is a project of love. It is a project born of a  surgery that became necessary due to a car accident. This project hits hard in the  heart of its founder and coach, Jennifer (Jenn) Van Massenhoven.

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Jenn is a disabled person. She deals with a number of chronic pain issues, as well as PTSD, depression, social anxiety, and an eating disorder.

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She has never hesitated to talk about her health issues in the hope that she can help someone else.  This is not the first time she  has run a support group. For a few years in the early 2000s, she ran a support group for compulsive overeaters on a forum-based website called iVillage. 

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Cycling (and her partner Mike) saved her quality of life.

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In 2017, when her old friend Mike came back into her life, Jenn was barely able to walk the forty-ish feet from her couch to her bathroom. She had two dogs and took them out regularly, finding solace and a small sense of accomplishment every time she took them for a walk.

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But despite decades of trying to deal with chronic pain and her health issues, nothing was as successful as she wanted it to be and there were some in  her medical community who foresaw a wheelchair in the not-to-distant future. She was already using canes and walker.

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Then Mike came along and in the spring of 2018, he bought her the first decent bike she'd ever owned. Sure, she'd had a couple, rust buckets that didn't fit her well.  This bike was a 1992 team issue GT LTS. A full suspension mountain bike. 

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Her first ride with Mike was a total of 500m but 18 months later, she rode 185km over two days for her first MS Ride. 

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Since then, she was in a car accident and that caused what is likely "post-traumatic arthritis" which required a hip replacement. 

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This prompted the development of the brief idea she had:

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A cycling group designed to be graduated out of;

A group that will teach new skills, in cycling and life; 

A group that will truly help people.

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The group itself will consist of an 8 week program. Each session will start with a talk, stretching , and a brief meditation. You will learn new skills, some basic bike maintenance so nothing will stop you continuing, and gain new self-confidence. By the end of the group, you will be in less pain, confident on your bike, and, hopefully, have a new outlook on yourself.

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Those are the goals of the group.

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