Melissa Dundee This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. www.mult-sclerosis.org

   www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/Ju - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/17/2003   Last Visited: 7/12/2003

   "It's so beautiful out there," said Melissa Dundee, recreation coordinator for the Denver Parks and Recreation special needs program, who teaches a popular adaptive cycling class at Sloans Lake.
   
   The program attracts a continual flow of people who are blind, deaf, paralyzed or otherwise physically challenged, who learn to ride the program's handcycles, tricycles or tandem bikes, she said.
   
   "They enjoy nature and the company," Dundee said.
   ...
   Cycling also improves balance, coordination and mobility, said Dundee, who has a degree in therapeutic recreation.
   
   The physical challenge of cycling is the most appealing aspect to Mitterer, 40, whose first love - climbing 14,000-foot peaks - has been tamed by MS. "It's amazing; it's just awesome," she said of the feeling she gets when she crests steep, switchback-heavy mountain passes with her husband.
   
   And it truly is a feat. Climbing a mountain on a tandem bicycle tests muscles and attitudes, Mitterer said. She sometimes gains inspiration to keep going from the more challenged riders.