What An All Ages & Abilities Cycle Network Means to a Parent of a Child with Special Needs

In this episode, I finally connect with Becky Furuta, a former Pro Cyclist with the Novo Nordisk Cycling Team and the parent of a child with special needs who will never be able to drive a car, for a conversation about her first Velo-city Conference in Rimini, Italy, and why it is so important that we create communities that provide active mobility options for all ages and abilities. Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel): 👉 Landing page for this episode 👉 Watch the video version of this episode 👉 Team Novo Nordisk Team Member Profile 👉 Team Novo Nordisk video 👉 Velo-city Conference 👉 Follow Becky on Instagram 👉 I Can Shine website 👉 Mike Friedman's Pedaling Minds website 🤙 This video features my beloved Brompton folding bicycle. I highly recommend buying your own Brompton from your local dealer if you have one or from my favorite Boulder, Colorado-based store, Freedom Folding Bikes (yes, they can ship the bike directly to you - that's what they've done for me): https://www.freedomfoldingbikes.com/ 🙌 Mention Active Towns for a special deal on accessories and add-ons. More information on Freedom Folding Bikes can be found here: https://www.cpr.org/2024/10/23/ukraine-family-boulder-freedom-folding-bikes/ 👊🏼 Brompton Vincita Front Bag and Travel Luggage Link: https://vincita.cc/?ref=6zadxp5o 10% Off Coupon Code: ActiveTowns If you are a fan of the Active Towns Podcast, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways: 1. Become an Active Towns Member on YouTube for exclusive member-only content and Livestreams 2. Join the Active Towns Patreon community. Contributions start at just $3 per month 3. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee" 4. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc., to help support my pro bono work with cities Credits: - Video and audio production by John Simmerman - Music via Epidemic Sound Resources used during the production of this video: - My recording platform is Ecamm Live - Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite - Equipment: Contact me for a complete list For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below: - Active Towns Website - Active Towns on Bluesky - Weekly Update e-Newsletter Background: Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 35 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility. Since 2010, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities." The Active Towns Channel features my original video content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them. Thanks once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful. Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2026 ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★