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NEWS

COVID’s Impact on our Community

There are a thousand surveys detailing the most minute aspects of how Americans feel and behave in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But, as usual, disability-specific information is hard to come by. So we sent out our own survey and readers responded by the hundreds. Click the link to see how the pandemic is affecting wheelchair users across the U.S. Plus, check out how one power chair user routed his sip-and-puff tubing through an N95 mask.

WIN $500

Photo Contest Extended

Procrastinators around the country, unite! Our photo contest has been extended and we’re now accepting entries until July 22. Share your favorite shot of how you’re rolling through 2020 on Instagram, tag it with #RollUnited2020 and @NewMobilityMag, and you could win $500. Not on Instagram? Just respond to this email with your entry.

TRENDING

The “Jerry Rig” Wheelchair

It’s no wonder the off-road adaptive device “The Rig” is seemingly everywhere on social media lately — the guy who built it runs “Jerry Rig Everything,” a YouTube Channel with 5.82 million subscribers. The Rig isn’t the most gnarly trail machine out there, but it looks perfectly functional, has a built-in rack to carry your wheelchair, can fit in the back of a Subaru and costs half the price of many of its competitors. Not bad at all.

BIG IDEAS

It’s Time to Move Beyond Access to Inclusion

We need to think bigger than “accessible travel” says Martin Heng, a wheelchair-using travel expert who spent 21 years at the guide-book company Lonely Planet. Instead, we should be pushing for inclusive travel, “making sure travel experiences are able to be enjoyed by as many people as possible rather than on the costly business of installing elevators, ramps and accessible toilets,” he writes. Read his thought-provoking argument here.

PRO TIP
Better Batteries, Better Wheeling

No matter what type of mobility device you use, the allure of being able to go farther and faster with less effort and toll on your body is always appealing. Thanks to a new generation of lithium-ion batteries, innovative manufacturers are adding power-assist to handcycles, wheelchair attachments and more, allowing you to explore the world in exciting new ways. Here’s the low down on how to power up.

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