Video: Central Oregon Makers: The AdvenChair

Thank you Visit Central Oregon for including AdvenChair in the Central Oregon Makers series. We are proud to help make the beauty of the region accessible to those with mobility challenges.

Geoff Babb is a former BLM fire ecologist and avid outdoorsman in Bend, Oregon. In 2005, a near-fatal brain stem stroke left him in a wheelchair with only the use of one hand. However, Geoff was determined to get back outside and found that his biggest obstacle to experiencing the great outdoors again was his inflexible wheelchair. With the help of his team, Geoff designed the AdvenChair 1.0 and then AdvenChair 2.0- an all-terrain wheelchair designed from mountain bike parts featuring an adjustable sit-ski seat, adjustable handlebars, larger 27.5-inch mountain bike wheels and high-grade aluminum mountain bike components throughout.

Adaptive Wheelchair Takes Physically Disabled to Nature Trails Around the World

By: Elizabeth Ruiz

BEND, OR — Patrik Nabelek lives with muscular dystrophy, but he loves to get outside.

“There's one thing to look at kind of nature stuff from afar, but it's another to kind of get really get in there," Nabelek said. "And so, I hope a lot of other people will get the same opportunity I have had.”

Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease that leads to muscle weakness over time, which is why he gets around in his power wheelchair.

Patrik Nabelek and his mother Anne Trehu head to the trails in the adaptive wheelchair AdvenChair with inventor Geoff Babb close behind in his own AdvenChair.

“When I was younger, I used to do lots of outdoor stuff, like I used to go skiing and did some hiking and stuff," Nabelek said. "But then, as I got older and the disease got more severe, I couldn’t do that anymore. A real good change for me was when I got a nice power chair that allowed me to get out and go outside, like, go on kind of long walks on paved and stuff.”

The vast majority of nature trails aren’t paved, limiting Nabelek on his outdoor excursions until his mother, Anne Trehu, found out about AdvenChair.

“We’ve taken it to the coast. We’ve taken it on a number of trails around town here," Trehu said. "Narrow, muddy trails that were totally inaccessible for the power chair.”

AdvenChair is an adaptive, human-powered wheelchair designed to help people with physical disabilities get outside. The current design of AdvenChair is version 3.0. The first version was built in 2016. It was inspired and created by Geoff Babb.

“It means a lot for me, to me, to help people be outside,” Babb said.

Geoff Babb has experienced two strokes and now lives with quadriparesis, which means he experiences weakness in all four limbs. We first met him in 2020 when he was at the hospital for a medical emergency. Back then, there was only one AdvenChair. But now, 10 more have been built and sold to people like Nabelek.

“Despite all these setbacks, the pandemic and health and weather, we're really happy with where we are,” Babb said.

Now, there are AdvenChairs from coast to coast with one making it all the way to Machu Picchu. Babb says a couple from Los Angeles reached out to him with the desire to take the chair to the iconic spot.

Team Kapen makes it to Machu Picchu with the all-terrain wheelchair AdvenChair
Photo courtesy of Nelly Kapen

“They were just ecstatic," Babb said.

"Nelly is from Peru, but she’s never been to Macchu Picchu and so for her to be able to take Robert, her husband, who had a stroke, take him to Macchu Picchu in the chair, it was it's a big moment for them.”

Babb says they were able to use AdvenChair for everything—from getting on planes, trains, and buses to the Macchu Picchu trail. That’s one of the benefits of the latest design. It’s convertible to be used indoors and outdoors.

“We got this, in part, to travel to New Zealand, because power chairs and airplanes don’t mix very well, and with this front wheel off, it does serve as a regular wheelchair,” Trehu said.

AdvenChair adaptive wheelchair fits in a rental car in Peru
Photo courtesy of Nelly Kapen

Anne Trehu shows how easily the AdvenChair adaptive wheelchair stows for travel

As a professor in earth, oceanic and atmospheric sciences, Trehu says she hopes AdvenChairs can eventually help students with physical disabilities get out in the field for research. It’s something that could be happening very soon as Babb and his team ramp up for another production of AdvenChairs in 2022.

“Soon after the pandemic, we’ll get the chair out as much as possible and get more exposure and get as many smiles on faces as we can,” Babb said.

Video: OPB'S Oregon Field Guide Airs "Adventure Wheelchair" Episode Filmed at Smith Rock

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) Producer Jule Gilfillan and videographer Kristen Henderson had their work cut out for them filming at Smith Rock State Park during the hottest July on record. For 24 days, the temperature exceeded 90 degrees. The filming for this part of the “Adventure Wheelchair” story on AdvenChair for the OPB show, Oregon Field Guide, had already been postponed once. Both the film crew and the AdvenChair team decided to go for it by getting an early start.

A weekly TV news magazine exploring the ecological issues, natural wonders, and outdoor recreation of the Northwest for over 30 years, OPB’s Oregon Field Guide has been coming to Smith Rock State Park to cover a range of stories, from rock climbing to geology. This time they needed to add oppressive weather to the logistics of filming mobility challenged subjects navigating conditions that can pose an issue to a lot of visitors to the park.

OPB Producer Jule Gilfillan and videographer Kristen Henderson capture AdvenChair inventor Geoff Babb in one of the two AdvenChairs headed into Smith Rock State Park down the Canyon Trail.

With an objective to show the responsiveness to all-terrain conditions for “the wheelchair that thinks it’s a mountain bike,” all set out down the paved, then “scree”—or pea-size gravel, Canyon Trail to descend the steep slope into the river canyon below. As the AdvenChair is human-powered, this required stopping and starting a team of human “mules” to lead the two wheelchairs down the slope, stop, and reshoot for lighting, angles, etc, all as the sun begins to shine more intensely than anticipated with the weather app.

A challenge for any producer is to keep on schedule for all sorts of timing reasons. In this case, Jule had to get the shots she wanted to demonstrate the breadth of the AdvenChair while being aware that one of her non-mobile film subjects couldn’t regulate his body temperature on his own. She constantly checked in on them, adjusting locations to keep everyone close to the shade and hydrated while getting proper light for the shot.

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In the end, Jule and Kristen have captured some great footage at Smith Rock to help tell the story of how AdvenChair opens up wild spaces to those with mobility challenges.

Their episode “Adventure Wheelchair” on OPB’s Oregon Field Guide covers interviews with the team behind this all-terrain wheelchair, the assembly process, and culminates with the AdvenChair in action on the trails at Smith Rock State Park. Great job Jule and Kristen!

When OPB’s Bend correspondent Emily Cureton aired a radio story about Geoff Babb’s “AdvenChair” in 2019, I knew the Oregon Field Guide audience would be as intrigued as I was to see the chair in action. I reached out to Geoff and the story was born!

Working with Geoff, Yvonne and the whole AdvenChair crew was eye-opening in ways I hadn’t expected. Not only had a community collected around the project, but had also generated a powerful bonding experience that is easy to miss in our busy lives. Working on this story reminded me to slow down and savor everything that life brings.”

— OPB Oregon Field Guide Producer Jule Gilfillan

Video: AdvenChair design team partners with Ansys to reduce weight and cut costs.

Geoff Babb (seated) on the Rim Rock Trail in the AdvenChair at Smith Rock State Park, Oregon

PRODUCED BY ANSYS IN COLLABORATION
WITH THE ONWARD PROJECT LLC

Inspired by Emily Cureton’s story about AdvenChair for National Public Radio last December, Ansys, a global leader in engineering design technology, reached out and offered their help and expertise. By joining the Ansys Startup Program, we were able to utilize their Discovery design simulation software in the development process, which enabled us to better understand the effect of our design decisions and make adjustments during our prototype testing. 

We also had the pleasure of working with Curt Chan and Adam Morley on a video that illustrates how both teams benefitted from the partnership. It’s an incredible piece of work and we hope you will enjoy it. Thank you, Ansys!

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Video: Hiking Wheelchair Opens Outdoor Lifestyle to People Living with Physical Disabilities

Issac Shannon (seated) tries out the AdvenChair in Bend, Oregon

FEATURED ON THE DENVER CHANNEL
by Elizabeth Ruiz
E.W. Scripps Company National News 

It’s a crisp September morning. A good time to go for a hike. For 21-year-old Isaac Shannon, that means strapping into the AdvenChair.

“I’m in a wheelchair because I have a mitochondrial disease, which is a progressive genetic disorder that affects pretty much everything in my body and makes me extremely tired and fatigued easily,” Shannon said.

For the majority of his life, Shannon hasn’t been able to go on hikes. This is now his fourth time using the AdvenChair.

“It’s rejuvenating to be outside, especially as a person with a disability because these resources are not exactly the most accessible,” Shannon said. “So when there is a tool that allows a person to be able to experience life in the most average way possible, I think it’s healing, and it’s nice to be out in nature where you’re not around people.”

The AdvenChair is an adaptive, human-powered wheelchair designed to help people with physical disabilities get outside. Jack Arnold is the engineer who helped develop the chair.

“It’s an all-terrain wheelchair. With a small team of people, you can go backpacking,” Arnold said.

One person pushes from behind, and another – adequately referred to as a mule -- pulls from the front. Up to five people can help remove the chair with nylon straps and carabiners on more challenging trails.

“There are so many people with physical challenges out there in the world,” Arnold said. “We take it for granted; we can get up and go for a hike. And everybody with physical challenges, they don’t want to be stuck indoors either. They want to get out.”

The man who inspired and created the idea of the AdvenChair, Geoff Babb, was supposed to be on the trail with us, but a medical emergency rushed him to the hospital instead. Geoff is no stranger to the hospital. This visit is due to a complication with a pump in his abdomen that helps control muscle spasms. But as he puts it, it’s not his first rodeo.

“I had my first stroke on November 10th, 2005,” Geoff said.

Twelve years later, on the same date, Geoff had a second stroke. Now he lives with quadriparesis, which means he experiences weakness in all four limbs. His favorite medicine is nature.

“For me, to start to heal, I had to be in my place of comfort and strength, which was being outside,” Geoff said.

Outside is where he met his wife, Yvonne.

“I mean, we weren’t born outside, but we’re just outdoorsy people,” Yvonne said with a laugh.

Both worked as plant resource specialists. Geoff used to be a fire incident commander. As his primary caretaker, Yvonne’s life has been influenced by the AdvenChair as much as Geoff’s has.

“To me, it’s a safe way to go out to the woods with Jeff and continue our life in an adventurous way,” Yvonne said.

They can go on trips to the beach, or in the snow and trek through somewhat tricky trails.

“Takes five or six people we’re like ‘ohhh we can do this,’” Yvonne said.

Yvonne says Geoff is the most driven person she’s ever known. Geoff says his motivation is his desire to contribute to the world positively.

“I have a purpose when I get up, and that purpose is to help people experience wild places eventually,” Geoff said.

It’s a goal he’s already achieved on a small scale with other friends in Oregon.

“I think this is one of the coolest things that I’ve gotten to experience in my life because I’ve been able to hike again without feeling tired or having any pain,” Shannon said.

Geoff hopes to continue his legacy allowing more people to hike outside.

“I want to be able to see other people in his chair… on the Camino, or climbing the Great Wall of China,” Yvonne said.

No matter what life throws at him, Geoff says he will continue rolling boldly off the beaten path.

Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

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