Hiking Adventures with Bob '4WheelBob' Coomber

• About the Adventures
• All About Bob Coomber
• As Seen on TV
• Contact Bob

About the Adventures

Each month, wheelchair hiker and motivational speaker, Bob Coomber, aka 4WheelBob, will offer several lively write-ups on his favorite East Bay Regional Park District hiking trails. Half of his hikes will be geared toward relatively flat options with easy access, perfect for those with mobility devices, strollers, young kids on bikes, anyone really, who would simply like to explore the outdoors on a flat trail. The other half of his hikes are more challenging - he is, after all, the only person to climb 14,000' White Mountain in a wheelchair. These challenge hikes include longer distances and higher elevations. No matter what you're looking for, Bob is sure to have an option, and story, for you.

All About Bob Coomber

Bob Coomber is a lifelong Bay Area resident, having been raised in Piedmont and currently calling Livermore home.

After acquiring juvenile diabetes in his early 20's, Bob struggled with the illness and its complications. Bob became disabled after his long struggles with diabetes caused severe and irreversible osteoporosis. After multiple leg, ankle and knee fractures, Bob finally took his doctor's advice and began life in a wheelchair.

Wheelchairs can seem confining, but to Bob the chair was simply another challenge. A lifelong hiker, Bob soon began experimenting with easy outdoors excursions. Several broken chairs later, one thing led to another and Bob became a staple of local newspaper and television shows - that guy in a wheelchair who won't believe in limits.

On August 24, 2007 Bob became the first person in a wheelchair to summit California's 3rd highest peak, 14,246' White Mountain. Bob is also the first in a chair to summit two local favorites, Mt. Diablo and its companion, North Peak, as well as Mission Peak in Fremont.

Bob was inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame in January, 2007. He was one of only 27 Americans to receive the President's Council on Physical Fitness Community Leadership Award in 2008.  He's also been featured in every Bay Area newspaper, as well as the CBS "Early Show", ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" and the Hallmark Channel.

In October of 2010, Bob plans to summit Africa's highest peak, Kilimanjaro, and be the first unassisted wheelchair to make the journey. The trip will also serve to distribute 200 wheelchairs in Arusha, Tanzania, in partnership with The Wheelchair Foundation of Danville. A potential spring warm up summit attempt of Mexico's Orizaba (18,490') is being pondered.

An inspiring motivational speaker, Bob is popular with everyone from schoolchildren to senior hikers. He loves to inspire others to reach for their goals, no matter what the "perceived" obstacles. Bob has been married to wife Gina for 14 years. They spend way too much time finding new trails to explore all over California and the West.

As Seen on TV and Other Media

Bob Coomber has appeared in the local and national media. Take a look.

Television:

• CBS5: Local News - January 5, 2009
• ABC: WorldNews with Charlie Gibson: National News - August 12, 2009
• CBS: The Early Show with Dave Price: National News - May 26, 2006 
• YouTube: 4WheelBob's Ascent of White Mountain: YouTube - October 2007

Magazines and Newspapers:

• Backpacker Magazine - May 2006 
• San Francisco Chronicle - September 2, 2009 
• San Francisco Chronicle - January 14, 2007 
• San Francisco Chronicle - November 29, 2008

Contact Bob

Bob is also a wonderful motivational speaker and enjoys speaking about the East Bay Regional Park District, trails, flora and fauna, outdoor adventures in California, and especially how to set goals and accomplish them.

• Reach Bob via e-mail at: bob@4wheelbob.com
• Follow Bob on Facebook at http://facebook.com/MKWC2010