Geek on Wheels

Random rolling ruminations

Jason Chiles

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A moments where you either laugh or cry. Guess what I choose.

A few weeks ago, I was trapped. That’s not an understatement or an over-dramatizations of a moment. Totally trapped and all I could do was laugh. Now, once more bear with me, dear reader, there is a point to this (even if it’s only in my own head). I was about an hour away from home, in a small town just barely in the border of the GTA, called Bowmanville. I had pulled over into the parking lot.. Read More

What does paralysis “feel” like?

As a kid, I can recall being very proud of a silly feat I could accomplish. I was really, really good at picking up objects with my feet…or my toes more like it. No, I couldn’t resist the cheap pun. I would spend hours picking up pencils and crayons with my toes, even attempting to write on paper and colouring books from my toe skills. I might have even been.. Read More

Things I learned cruising on wheels 2015

Just over a week ago, I had the pleasure of cruising with my wife and some family friends, the Kean’s, for what has been an annual vacation the last 5 years. And despite the heat in Toronto since we got back, I still wish I was on that cruise ship! I now consider myself a veteran cruiser, a method of seeing the world that works well when you are on wheels. Our.. Read More

Toronto’s Blue Hornets – they can be people too

Confused yet? If you are a Toronto resident, you may have heard this term before, but I can’t blame others for not knowing it. Blue Hornets are Toronto’s Parking Enforcement Officers, a subdivision of the main police force that handles…well…giving out parking tickets. Really that’s about it. In other jurisdictions, they often also deal with municipal bylaw enforcement, but in Toronto..it’s all about parking. Let’s be honest…they are generally viewed with.. Read More

Another era passes – my Giant passes to good hands

This weekend saw the turning of another page in my wheeled life. I finally gave up the other set of wheels that had been a passion for far too short a time in my life. My Giant mountain bike, my first GOOD mountain bike has moved on to a new home with my brother. He had looked for a bike to ride with his step-kids and didn’t want to steal.. Read More

AODA – an acronym all about perspective

Now for something completely different! Recently, I was asked by the good people at Optimal Performance Consultants to take part in a series of presentations to a group of professionals from various walks of business life about the AODA (Acessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act). It was a unique chance to talk to some real decision makers about what life has been like as a working professional (stop…I know I barely.. Read More

Toronto Subways – the coming Para-Pan Am nightmare

The first time I ever used a subway in  my wheelchair was actually in Washington DC. It’s a small of but efficient subway system and my only complaint was how bloody dark their stations were. Seriously, I could have used a head mounted flashlight at noon! However, full credit that you only ever had to use one elevator to reach track level and there was good space to be secure… Read More

Dumbest Medical Question Yet!

I can’t say dumbest EVER! because I am sure some facility somewhere, sometime will top it. This one has just been grating on me a while so…here goes… I love Lyndhurst. I really do. I wish we had found them for my rehab after my 2011 surgery. Maybe things would have been a bit easier with all the resources we’ve had available to use from them since then. They’ve been.. Read More

Celebrating the end of walking

Doesn’t make much sense does it? If you’ve read me for a while, you’ve heard me discuss the efforts I have made to keep walking for as long as possible. Times change though, and if reaching my 40’s has taught me anything, most change comes from necessity. 2015 has become the year of fully accepting my new limitations, but also looking for new ways to keep my freedom. In short, my.. Read More