A new start...

Well...  It has been to long since I've updated this blog.

There have been a lot of things that have happened along the way.

The project is now known as The H.A.W.T Wheels Initiative.  We have added a very worthy aspect to the project to raise $10,000,000.00 (yes, TEN MILLION DOLLARS!!!) to make playground swings made to accommodate wheelchairs available to any playground that wants to install them.

You can go to http://www.gofundme.com/Hawt-Wheels-Across-Ohio or http://www.hawtwheelsacrossohio.com and make donations to the project!

Training is going very well.  I am up to 25 miles at least once a week.  The minimum distance in a training session is now 8 miles!!!  Could hardly do 2 miles when I started!!!

And the HWAO saga continues still...

I don't even know where to start...

I apologize that it has been over a month since I last posted.  It has been a really wild ride!

We were able to raise the funds to buy the FreeWheel for the front of the wheelchair.  It makes a HUGE difference in how the wheelchair operates over rough terrain!  And the $700 for it was a much better option than buying a second wheelchair!

We are quickly approaching the Hawt Wheels Across Ohio Shake Out Roll.  I am so anxious to g et this one done!  I want to be able to prove that all the hard work, training and equipment are capable of getting the trip across the state done!!!

We are still in need of raising the $25,000.00 to get across the state and the $75,000.00 (yeah $100,000.00 total) to get across the USA.  We have the benefit concert/show scheduled for July 21st of this year.

I have been kicking around a few ideas for an anual fund raising ideas and I have to thank Scruffy Scruffington for this great idea...  The Anual Hawt Wheels Walk and Roll!!!  We can have our own little marathon to raise funds for the Hawt Wheels Foundation (the non-profit I'm trying to get established) for raising awareness of Legg-Calves-Perthes and to donate to Nationwide Children's Hospital for diagnosis, treatment and further research into this syndrome.

I have decided to make the trip across the USA an attempt at a Guinness Book of World Records record...

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-2000/trans-usa-by-wheelchair/

It has been done by someone in a powered chair but there is no record of someone doing it in a manual chair!!!  This adds a whole new layer to the opportunity to raise awareness!!!

And the HWAO saga continues...

Holy crap!!! What have I done??? Am I crazy??? Have I finally gone off the deep end??? Was I dropped on my head too often when I was a child??? Have the two brain cells I have left migrated too far apart???

I'm sure all of those questions could be answered with YES!!! But these are questions I have asked myself and others have asked me with the changes I have made for HWAO. There are many reasons why I have decided to institute these changes.

Let me start though with what the changes are. I am still making the short trip on June 2nd of this year. I will be crossing the state of Ohio starting on September 22nd of THIS year (2012) and will start the trip across the USA on June 1st of next year (2013).

Yes, I said a trip across the USA. I will start in Lubec, Maine and end in Santa Monica, California. It is a very ambitious goal. It will be a very difficult and demanding trip, but I know that with your support I can make it happen!

Now back to WHY. Many of you know that I hold tight to the independence I have (even in the wheelchair). There will come a time when some of that independence will be stripped away and I want to be able to make these trips on my terms! When will the stripping happen? I don't know! But I do not want miss out on the opportunities to make these trips!!!

Go big or go home!!!

"GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!"

The words are still ringing in my ears! They were spoken by someone I respect in regard to the HWAO project. It started me thinking and I came to the conclusion that I was not thinking BIG enough. SO here it what is happening...

We are still doing the short trip in June. I will make the trip to cross the state of Ohio in late September of this year. And I will start a trip to cross the USA next year!

I don't know how to go any bigger! This has caused a few folks to panic! There is a lot that has to fall in place to make HWAO happen.

I have increased the amount we need to raise. I have set a goal of $100,000.00. This will give us all that we need to get across the country. And part of our goals in crossing the country is to continue to raise funds that will be donated to Nationwide Children's Hospital's Orthopedic Center.

And the HWAO saga continues...

Sorry that it has been awhile...

Been breaking in the new chair. It is such a difference from the old chair! I have gotten pretty good at taking the back wheels off and getting them back on. It handles the rougher terrain much better and is actually a bit easier to push!!!

I have also spent too much time in the ER over the past week with what has now been diagnosed as gallstones. I have a follow up with a surgeon to schedule a day to get the gallbladder removed.  I hit 50 and everything really started to fall apart!!!  I need to see if my mom still has my warranty papers!!!

I will be taking a break from the training while recovering from the surgery for the gallstones.  But the day that I can get back to it I would like to do another round at Antrim Park.  Putting another 12 or so miles under the wheels will feel awfully good!!!

And the HWAO saga continues...

This is the new wheelchair!!!  It is an Invocare Topend T6a.  It is perfect for geting the training started.  It is actually an earlier model of the one we need to order to get across the state.  The folks at Columbus Medical Supply have provided this chair (at a very reduced cost!!!) to help me get through everyday challenges.  And all the major parts (wheels, seat pan, back rest) are interchangeable with the T7a that I would like to have to make the state crossing.

I picked this chair up because the old one had reached it's limitations in training.  And it can work as a back up if something goes wrong with the T7a when I get out on the road.

I received the chair on Tuesday (Feb. 28) and on Wednesday put 12 miles on it out at Antrim Park here in Columbus.  The bike trails are a very good simulation of the road surfaces I will face.  The chair performed flawlessly!!!  I wish I could say the same for my arms!!!

Training will now start to focus more on distance and endurance.  The strength will come in time.

And the HWAO saga continues...

Had a small set back today.  Spent several hours a the ER this morning.  They think that I am having issues with my gallbladder!!  Oh fun!!!  I should only be down for a couple of days.  And this will certainly NOT deter me from getting Hawt Wheels Across Ohio accomplished.

I have been working a couple angles in an attempt to get the wheelchair at the best price possible.  I will be going over to Columbus Medical Supply tomorrow to see what things we can do to get the best discount possible along with the upgrades necessary to make the chair truly road worthy.  Rob Jones has done a fantastic job working with me to make sure that we get exactly what we need.

I ran across a young lady, Janie Gynn, who has volunteered to help me write the book to accompany this project.  Janie has a degree in journalism and has offered her services free of charge.  She also has considerable experience in dealing with new media groups.  Janie and I will be getting together here soon to get the outlines started and to get a general history of not only me but the entire process of putting HWAO all together. And we will be putting a very simple press kit!

Hello,

My name is Jeff Lowe. My friends call me Hawt Wheels. I have been working on a project to be the first person to cross the state of Ohio in a manually powered wheelchair. I know... it seems odd that no one has done this before but apparently they have not. The state has been crossed with hand cranked bikes, powered wheelchairs (electric) and there have even been a few that have jogged across the state on artificial limbs. But no one has done so in a regular old manually power wheelchair.

There are a couple of reasons why I am doing it. One is because it has not been done! Another is to help raise awareness of Legg-Calves-Perthes Syndrome and Osteonecrosis. You can follow the link on my website (http://www.hawtwheelsacrossohio.org/) to get an explanation of these disorders.

I have planned the first big trip to start June 1, 2013. I will cross the state following Rt. 40 (with a few side trips where 40 and 70 merge). We expect the trip to take at least 10 days. I have scheduled a "shake out roll" for June 2nd of this year that will consist of a trip from the center of Columbus (High and Broad) to the center of West Jefferson (where I live). The trip is only about 16 miles but will give me a good indication of where to continue to work the bugs out in the logistics of the big trip.

The project is called Hawt Wheels Across Ohio and has a couple of substantial goals. First are the trips across the state. The first one is listed above and we have set the following trip goals also:

Cleveland - Columbus - Cincinnati, starting June 7, 2014

Toledo - Columbus - Marietta, starting June 6, 2015

Sandusky - Columbus - Portsmouth, starting June 4, 2016

Second is in forming a non-profit organization to become a repository of information and assistance for those who are diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes or Osteonecrosis.

Thank you for your consideration.  Please follow the link below to make a donation!

Jeff "Hawt Wheels" Lowe

405 Madison Drive N

West Jefferson, OH 43162

614.598.5431

jeff.lowe@hawtwheelsacrossohio.org

https://www.facebook.com/jdlsr1001

http://www.hawtwheelsacrossohio.org/

And the HWAO saga continues...

I was able to push 7 miles out at Easton! The weather was fantastic! The people watching has been priceless!!!

Having a day off in the middle of the week is interesting! Got my hairs cut this morning. Got out here to Easton. The bad thing will be that I won't get a day off again until next week!

Things with the HWAO project are coming along. I wanted to take some time to explain a little more about the goals of the project. The trips are an obvious set of goals themselves but there are a few other things that I hope to accomplish too.

I want to write a book about the entire experience of planning and taking the first trip. I hope to be able to then go onto the motivational talk circuit. I think there is a great opportunity to share all the fun and frustration of making this dream come to life.

I'm also trying to get a non-profit organization built to address the issues of Legg-Calve-Perthes Syndrome and Osteonecrosis. There is so much that simply falls between the cracks because of the rare nature of both. I want to leave behind a legacy of knowledge and understanding. And not only for these two disorders but for all forms of handicaps.

It may be because I live it every day but there has been a trend lately that dismisses some of the issues faced by handicapped people. Now I know that there are those that are just using the system to be lazy. And there are those that claim some form of handicap with out any substance to their claim. But neither of those reasons is enough for us to ignore the true needs of a few that are struggling to live as normal a life as possible despite certain obstacles.

Kandie and I were heading into a Meijer store the other night and some jackass barely missed me with his car. And I mean he missed me by about 3 inches! If I hadn't stopped he would have run me square over. Now we were in the crosswalk with a very visible stop sign. This idiot was paying no attention and was accelerating through the lot. He could have hit anyone actually.  This is the kind of thing that scares me the most about the trips.

And speaking of the trip.... I need YOUR help in raising money to make this dream a reality!  Please go to http://www.hawtwheelsacrossohio.org and follow the link to make a donation!  THANKS!!!!

And the HWAO saga continues...

The new website is up and running! Go to http://www.hawtwheelsacrossohio.org and check it out!

I got some information on a better wheelchair design at the same cost as the one I was originally looking at!

This chair will function as both an everyday and travel wheelchair!!! I am very excited to be able to go and check it out. I will be even more excited on the day we can get this bad boy ordered!

I "climbed" teh hill in front of Nationwide Arena today three times!!! I can barely lift my arms to the desk to type this post!!!