New adaptive bike for Mount Forest boy, thanks to local legion and Lion's Club

A Mount Forest family is thanking the community and local groups for getting an adaptive bicycle for their 5-year-old son.

The Gowing's have two boys, fraternal twins named Korbin and Colton.

When Korbin was born he suffered a brain bleed and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

While caring for Korbin has been costly, his parents didn't want to hold their son back.

"There are so many costs associated with having a child with exceptionalities that some people don’t know about," said Angela Gowing, Korbin's mother.

She and her husband approached the Mount Forest Lions Club and Royal Canadian Legion Branch 134 for help buying an adaptive bike.

"We were just happy with whatever they would be willing to donate," Angela explained. "We didn’t have a set number in mind."

The Lions Club said the adaptive bike was more than $5,000, money they gathered at various fundraising events.

"There's a lot of the general public that maybe doesn’t realize how much the Lions Club can help," said Crystal Johnson, from the Mount Forest Lions Club.

The Legion said it is was all worth it once they saw Korbin’s reaction to his new set of wheels.

"When you see that kind of reaction and that kind of happiness in a little boys face," said Derek Moore, from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 134. "That’s what we do this for."

Angela said his smile "lit up the world" when he saw his new bike.

He also has an identical one he uses at school.

Korbin's journey to get the bike was posted on social media community groups.

Both his parents said Korbin is now a local celebrity in the neighbourhood and he gets stopped when he’s riding around.

The Gowings added that they can’t thank the community enough for helping their son get his dream bike.

Korbin can be spotted riding around his block everyday with Colton. His only goal now is to be faster than his brother.

"Pretty soon we’ll be able to race each other," Korbin said.