Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Journey of a lifetime
Fohner to ride 900 miles on road to recovery.
Josh Fohner’s cycling shoe cleat made a distinctive click as he locked into the pedal of his bike. It was a familiar feeling for Josh, an avid cyclist … a satisfying sound that meant his foot and the pedal were linked together as one.
On a chilly February afternoon, Josh was bundled against the cold north wind as he pushed his right leg forward, putting the wheels of his olive green Yumi in motion. Surrounded by a group of about 10 members of the Springdale Bike Club, Fohner and his father, Mike, started a training ride around Lake Fayetteville.
A little over four years ago, the idea that Josh would ever clip into a bike again was almost unfathomable. A horrific bike accident in Buena Vista, Colo., on a dark fall morning left the former all-state receiver at Springdale Har-Ber High School clinging to life. Doctors gave the family little hope that Josh would survive the crash, much less recover.
“We can go back to sitting in the ICU and looking at his body being run by machines, and if you’d have told us, don’t worry, you’re going to be snow skiing in a couple of years, every doctor would have just laughed you out of the room,” says Mike Fohner. “No one thought any of this would be possible. It’s really inspiring, and it’s really exciting. We almost feel, not undeserving, but so grateful, and we want others to take advantage of these kinds of opportunities.”
Josh faces tremendous challenges still, but his progress has been remarkable in many ways, Mike says. A huge part of that progress has been linked to his love of biking, where the repetitive motion of pedaling has sparked muscle-memory recovery.
“Josh’s problem is not his body,” Mike says. “It’s this little area of the brain that is trying to communicate with his body. I think of all the things we’ve done, the Yumi and the spinning, the more he repeats an activity, the more he stimulates his brain to be active, the greater impact it has physically.” Prior to the accident, Josh was intent on becoming a Navy Seal — until a shoulder injury caused him to tap out of the training. He also pursued a white-water rescue career that led him to move to Colorado just a few months before the accident in Buena Vista. Josh was always an adventure-seeker, Mike says. So the idea of a 900-mile bike ride from the scene of the accident back to Springdale over 20 days this June is really no surprise. From there, the All In For Josh Ride was born.
The question became how would it be possible for Josh and his family to pull this off?
THE YUMI
A conventional bicycle or even a two-person tandem would not be an option. So the Fohners started doing research online to see what kind of bike might be available.
“We ran across a guy who was in Utah, and his wife had had several strokes and had a spinal cord injury,” says Mike. “They were an active couple, and he invented this bike called a Yumi.
“So I called and told them our story.”
The Yumi is a two-person bike, somewhat similar to a recumbent bike that has been super modified. It has pedals on each side with an electric assist, battery-powered motor.
The bike that ultimately became Josh’s cycle has been modified in several ways. For example, the seat on the side of the bike that Josh sits on is 19 inches off the ground. The reason it is 19 inches is that is the height of the mat he uses for therapy. By having the seat of the bike at 19 inches, it means a lift is not needed to get Josh in and out of the seat.
When the Fohners first got the Yumi, they took it to San Antonio, Texas, where Josh was undergoing therapy. There, doctors tested it for pressure points and created a mat to help Josh prevent pressure sores on long rides.
“So it’s little things like that,” says Mike. “This is like a piece of adaptive sports equipment. Josh rides independently of us. He can go in any gear he wants and ride at his own pace. He likes to have pressure against his feet; where someone else might like to pedal faster, he prefers to grind.”
Josh was always a stellar athlete, starting on the 2005 Springdale Bulldog football team that many consider the best team ever in the state. He moved to Har-Ber when the school opened and was a standout for the Wildcats as well.
Despite the accident that caused the severe brain injury, Josh is still very strong, says his mother Kelly.
“His leg strength is incredible,” she says. “Very strong.”
From life-support to biking, Josh’s recovery has been incredible, and there are still so many goals that four years ago seemed unreachable.
“Josh’s main two goals were ‘I want to walk’ and ‘I want to talk,’” says Kelly. “Back then, when we brought that up, therapists just kind of … they didn’t ignore it, but they just kind of moved on past it. And now they’re initiating all that.”
They have now brought in a walker to get him up to his feet.
“So they are really focusing on upper body and balance,” Kelly says. “They’ve had him up on a walker. So it’s been fun to watch. They were never pessimistic, they just didn’t know where this would go. And now it’s like they are all bought in.”
THE RIDE
Mike says he thought of the ride as a way to raise funds for therapy, and there are several nonprofit organizations on the allinforjosh. org website to which people can contribute. Then Josh got involved.
“I had an idea, and Josh blew it up times 10,” says Mike. “I was thinking about trying to raise money for therapy because there are a lot of different types of therapy out there, and it all costs money. So I thought we’d do a bike ride to raise money. Then I thought it needs to be big and to do a ride from Colorado to Arkansas is bigger than anything I’ve done. I thought it was important that I do something bigger than anything.”
When Josh learned of the ride, he was determined to be a part of it.
Using a device called an ALS Switch System, Josh is able to communicate using a proximity switch at his head and knee to manipulate apps and data on his iPad.
It’s hard to mask his enthusiasm for this ride.
“I am excited this is finally going to happen,” Josh says. “I can’t wait to live outdoors for three weeks.”
Mike says he spent a lot of time with Rob and Jim Potts at Lewis and Clark Outfitters to make tweaks to the Yumi and seek advice. From there, Mike was introduced to Bret McCormick, who is an active member of the Springdale Bike Club and a long-distance biker himself.
“Kelly and I were talking with Bret about the ride, and Josh started tapping his foot and interrupted us,” Mike says. “Josh asked Bret if he’d ride with us, and from there the Springdale Bike Club got involved.”
McCormick says once Josh asked him to join the ride, he was all in.
“Riding with the Fohners is one of those once-ina-lifetime opportunities,” McCormick says. “If anyone had a good reason to justify sitting around on the sofa and do nothing else but watch ‘Tiger King,’ it would be the Fohners. Each and every day, Mike tends to all of Josh’s needs. I can’t imagine how many hours are spent dressing, undressing, loading, unloading, and transporting to the numerous therapy sessions or doctors’ appointments.
“I understand why they have a dream of a family adventure riding bicycles from Colorado to Arkansas. However, I still can’t wrap my head around how they make the time to train and gear up for such a quest. Since we began the training rides at the beginning of January, the Fohners haven’t missed one ride, except for weather.”
The maker of the Yumi bike will also be an important part of the ride, Mike says. On one day of the ride, all the riders will pedal a Yumi.
Mike says the group will launch at sunrise on June 11 from Buena Vista and will follow the Transamerica Trail, using lightly traveled roads with scheduled stops at various towns along the way. Four vehicles will be part of the journey, including one specifically for Josh. The riders will be able to stow their tents and gear into another vehicle so that they are not tasked with carrying the gear on their bikes.
Hannah Hamill is also a member of the Springdale Bike Club. She says being part of the training team with Josh and his family has been an inspiration.
“Knowing Josh is an immense blessing,” she says. “We’ve become dear friends this year, and he’s a big reason I come to SBC every week. I’m more motivated than ever for Josh’s tour this summer. Every time I feel like I can’t keep going on the trail, I see his bike in front of me and I think, ‘If he can do it, I can do it.’”
The group has planned a pre-ride dry run in April that will include a couple of overnight stays along the Razorback Greenway. This ride will hopefully help the group get a better idea of the logistics of the June ride, says Mike.
“It will help us to know, ‘OK, what do we need to articulate and set up a campsite,’” he says. “How does that look with Josh? So we need to have a dry run so that we don’t have that on the big ride.”
Mike says he anticipates around 20 bikers will join the ride, some doing smaller segments. The final stage of the ride will be from just across the Arkansas border near the Elk River in Missouri back into Bella Vista then down the Razorback Greenway.
Josh says he appreciates the SBC for wanting to be a part of this special journey
“What they are doing is incredible, riding with me every week, and now some are going on the trip with me,” he says.