The Challenged Athletes Foundation held a free bike clinic for the third straight year and this year had triple the adaptive athletes compared to the first year.
42 people came out to ride at this clinic that also had support from Higher Ground, the National Ability Center and Wasatch Adaptive Sports.
"So I’m a T-5 complete spinal cord injury," said Taylor Cutler. "When I was 16 I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt and got in a car accident, so now I’m 22 and hitting my six-year mark in July."
Adaptive athletes all have different stories, but they share a bond that only increases when they get outside and enjoy nature.
"Oh yeah and I’ve only been biking for about a year now so I’m excited to rip it this year," said Cutler.
The clinic includes two days of training on Saturday and Sunday at the J.A. and Kathryn Albertsons Family Foundation Bike Park.
On Monday, there will be a race at Eagle Bike Park. The kids' race starts at 1:15 p.m. on Memorial Day with the adult race to follow.
"It is awesome we have seen a lot of growth over the past three years," said Wilson Dippo of the Idaho Challenged Athletes Foundation.
One size doesn't fit all when it comes to adaptive athletes so volunteers worked on a variety of different bikes to make sure people of all ages got a chance to ride at this clinic.
“All these bikes come in different styles some have full suspension, some may have rear suspension and some have no suspension," said Dippo. "You have kid styles and adult styles, most of these bikes are using some sort of an electric assist that responds to the amount of force you are putting into the pedals."
Events like this build camaraderie and Taylor Cutler was grinning from ear to ear following her group ride and she looks forward to charging even harder on Sunday.
"I’m not really sure what trail we went on there, but there was so many wildflowers, some nice berms and stuff," said Cutler. "We took it kind of slow, but hopefully we can get out again and go a little faster."
Idaho CAF also presented 14-year-old Lincoln Allen with a new bike. Since 1994 the Idaho Challenged Athletes Foundation has funded 44,000 grants in all 50 states.
We have been there for many of these grants that enrich the lives of adaptive athletes.
