Travis Jecker’s life changed in the blink of an eye.
“I was injured on a motorcycle 18 years ago, just simply went over the bars, casual accident,” said Jecker.
This didn’t stop his adventurous soul. He founded Positive Ride to give others the chance to break physical boundaries.
“People get trapped into that: ‘you're disabled and you can't do anything,’ and that's so not true, the most important thing is you can do whatever you want, and if you put your mind to it, it'll happen,” added Jecker.
A Freedom Trax is giving people with mobility issues a chance to be outdoors.
“My shoulders, my arms, my body are not built to be pushing all the time, so to get out here on the tracks and be free and be able to get up there to the top of the mountain and do that type of thing, it's super powerful,” explained Jecker.
A video shot at the Pismo Preserve grabbed the attention of the Land Conservancy.
“We almost thought we were in trouble,” said Jecker.
“Our staff saw that on Instagram,” explained Kaila Dettman, the executive director of the Land Conservancy. “’ Wait a minute, we need to talk to them,’ and then, that was just the very little beginning, the little seed of a great relationship. ”
A partnership came about, and Positive Ride has more Freedom Trax.
“We joined together to do a little fundraising campaign, and our original goal was to buy one,” said Dettman. “We were able to buy three.”
Through those efforts, they raised $18,000 since November 2022.
"It seems a very fitting time that when it's shown in all of its glory, we get to welcome everyone out on the Pismo Preserve and to make this property accessible for all," added Dettman. "This is really special to all of us here at the Land Conservancy."
The device can take people on all sorts of terrain.
“The trails are steep right at the preserve, you climb up to about 900 feet from almost sea level, so it's a big climb, you know, and it's not something a regular wheelchair could traverse,” said Dettman. “It's really exciting that the Freedom Freedom Trax will allow them to get to the top. ”
Positive Ride takes people on adventures for free.
Gary Hale who is in charge of operations with Positive Ride tells KSBY News all people have to do is sign up.
“We're not limited to folks in wheelchairs,” said Hale. “If you have a mobility issue, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's, we have chairs, we'll take you out in a chair on our device and your family can walk with you or we'll just take a nice adventure. ”
Jecker is taking in every second.
“That’s what it’s all about,” said Jecker.
Positive Ride has a total of 13 Freedom Trax available for different trails throughout San Luis Obispo County.
Three are for land conservancy properties, so if you would like to go out on a hike you can reach out directly to Positive Ride or the Land Conservancy to make an appointment.
For more information about Positive Ride's Freedom Trax project, click here.
