You can rent tricycles, tandem bikes in Detroit: Here's how

Not everyone can or wants to ride a standard two-wheel bicycle.

Some people need a little more back support or something that’s a bit more stable. Some people have limits that keep them from pedaling with their feet.

Others live with others' assumptions about what they can and cannot do.

“Their whole life they’ve always been told this is something you can’t do,” said John Waterman, executive director of PEAC, an Ypsilanti-based nonprofit that helps people with disabilities learn to do all kinds of things, from riding a bike to taking transit. “Individuals need to know they can do it.”

MoGo, Detroit’s bike share system, is launching a pilot project through Oct. 31 to make biking more accessible to those with a range of disabilities, including those who might mistakenly assume that cycling is not for them.

Thirteen specially designed cycles — tandems, tricycles, hand tricycles, recumbents, even a front-loading trailer — will be available for use at Wheelhouse Detroit with the purchase of either a single trip pass — two hours for $12 — or a seasonal pass, which provides unlimited two-hour rides for $30.

Lisa Nuszkowski, executive director of MoGo, said the adaptive bike sharing program will help MoGo, which will celebrate the one-year anniversary of its launch on May 23, fulfill its mission. Detroit now joins Portland, Ore., as one of the first cities to offer an adaptive bike share program. The pilot project costs about $50,000 and is paid for through donations.

“It’s really important to me that we are reflective of the city that we serve, so making sure that we’re providing a service that can serve a wide range of people and needs," Nuszkowski said Tuesday morning. "Whether you need a two-wheel bike to hop on and get to work or whether you want to take out one of our recumbent bikes on the RiverWalk during the summer to get a little bit of exercise and be able to go out with your friends and family, we want to make sure that we’re serving that wide range of people and needs."

Nuszkowski, Waterman and other supporters were outside the Wheelhouse Detroit bike shop at Rivard Plaza on the east riverfront for an event to show off all the bikes, including several tadpole-style offerings, which have two wheels in front and one in the back. A morning rainfall might have kept a few people from taking a spin, but Sarosh Irani, 19, of Farmington Hills, was trying out a hand tricycle.

“It’s really stable. It’s a little bit more difficult than riding a regular bicycle for me,” said Irani, noting that it takes some arm strength to make the cycle move compared with the focus on leg power with other bikes.

Still, Irani, an ambassador for MoGo who teaches people how to use the system, planned to spend some more time with the hand tricycle to get used to it.

MoGo has notched 132,000 rides by more than 23,000 users in less than a year, besting initial projections of 100,000 rides, according to boosters. The system launched last year with 430 red and black cycles at 43 stations in 10 Detroit neighborhoods and was paid for with a $1 million federal grant and a mix of corporate and foundation support.

Read more:

Detroit's MoGo public bike share celebrates a milestone: 100,000 rides

MoGo is a go: You can now try Detroit's bike share system

Bike share is different than bike rental, providing options for short trips of 30 minutes or less (for the standard bike share system). Longer trips incur additional charges. The adaptive system will charge an extra $8 for every hour beyond the two-hour ride limit.

Those interested in trying out the adaptive bike share program are encouraged to get their pass and reserve a ride 24 hours in advance at the MoGo website, https://mogodetroit.org/

As part of its one-year anniversary celebration, MoGo will offer free rides on May 23.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.