What is a track chair?
My wife Leesa and I love spending time at the beach. There has always been a major obstacle for me. Wheelchairs and sand don’t play well together at all.
Then I made a discovery thanks to a friends Facebook post that literally skyrocketed my beach experience.
The track chair. “An all-terrain tank with a chair on top. Literally.”
Randy, a friend of mine from high school, brought to my attention on Facebook a non-profit named David’s Chair. This organization provides track chairs for people with mobility issues like myself. We can reserve these chairs for a couple of hours at various locations on the Oregon Coast.
Getting onto the chair was easy
We met our contact Rod at the Elks Lodge in Seaside. He brought us out the track chair and explained the controls. The controller was basically a joystick and very much like the controller on a scooter.
The chair had a standing platform on the back. It included a second controller in case the rider wasn’t capable of operating the chair. This would allow for another person to pilot the chair from behind.
I had to get on the chair with only Leesa to help me. It was pretty easy. I used my walker to back up to the chair’s footrest. Leesa then lifted my feet up backwards onto the foot plate.
Since this chair was a stander it had a harness and padded crossbar brace to support my legs.
Just like the term implies, a Stander chair lifts up vertically. This allows the rider to get to a secure standing position.
It isn’t really advisable to drive the chair very fast while standing. Turning fast would make it susceptible to flipping over sideways.
It was time to head to the beach!
Pure freedom and joy of my first track chair experience
I drove the chair a couple of blocks to the beach access ramp. It was just south of the Seaside Turnaround. I then headed down the concrete ramp onto the sand.
Once on the beach headed across the soft sand
This chair was a beast! I felt like I was driving a really small tank.
The ability to plow over the soft sand was so amazing! The freedom I felt was awesome!
Soft sand on a beach is impossible to navigate with a standard wheelchair. Being capable of just moving over the sand was an amazing feeling. It was almost surreal because in my mind this was a major mobility obstacle that had just been defeated!
Once I reached the wet sand I couldn’t wait for the tide to meet the tracks.
I was driving along the surf. The tide was gently washing over the tracks beneath me. I felt as if the chair was drifting toward the ocean as the tide receded. Leesa explained to me that feeling was like the tide washing over bare feet.
Getting to hold hands while strolling on the beach
This was the first time I’ve ever managed to stroll on the beach with Leesa hand in hand. It was wonderful.
She said she always felt guilty. She didn’t like going for walks on the beach without me. I was waiting in the car.
I was FINALLY capable of joining her! It still almost makes me cry thinking about it. (They are tears of joy!)
You’re taller than I thought…
As I mentioned earlier, this track chair had Stander ability.
The upper body harness kept me in place. The padded bar along the bottom kept my legs secure. This allowed me to stand completely upright.
This was really cool!
We wandered south along the beach. We moved in and out of the low incoming tide. Eventually, we ran out of beach and headed back.
The end of an amazing day at the beach
I texted Rod before we left the beach. I let him know we were headed back. This way, he could secure the track chair upon our return.
We met Rod at the Elks Lodge parking lot and returned the chair for him to put away.
We did stop and talk to a few people on the beach who were curious about the track chair.
I believe the most often used term to describe it was “Bad Ass!”.
It was such an amazing day. I can’t wait to do this again!
How to reserve a track chair
If you would like to use one of these amazing devices please go to DavidsChair.org and click on ‘Request A Chair’ on the menu bar. This organization provides a tremendous service and relies on donations so please help them out if you can.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on this amazing experience.
Until next time Peace and Happiness.
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So happy for you having this kind of fun experience!