Monticello Express ? Physically disabled riders mark second year in ...

By Kim Brooks, Express Editor

This year was Adaptive Sports Iowa?s second year participating in RAGBRAI, the annual bike ride across the State of Iowa. Now, those associated with the non-profit group are striving for more.

Adaptive Sports Iowa was established by Mike Boone, now the program?s director. As a native of Colorado, Boone was active in skiing and helping those with physical disabilities manage the slopes. According to Adaptive Sports Iowa?s website, Boone ?saw firsthand the hardships that those with?physical?disabilities face as he watched his father navigate life blind.?

?Disability is part of my life,? said Boone.

After Boone moved to Iowa, he realized there was no outlet for those ?solely dedicated to sports programming for the physically disabled.?

After some hard work, networking and the Iowa Sports Foundation, Adaptive Sports Iowa quickly grew and officially kicked off its mission in March of 2011. The organization?s goal is to: support and grow sport and recreation programs for?Iowa?s physically disabled population.

Since its inception, Adaptive Sports Iowa led the first ever disabled RAGBRAI team in 2011 and hosted its first adaptive sports ski clinic. They have also begun incorporating adaptive sports into the Iowa Special Olympic Games.

What are adaptive sports? The term means ?the adaptation or modification of sport and recreation. Adaptive sports are played by a person with physical disabilities. As many of these sports are based on existing sports modified to?accommodate?those with physical disabilities.?

In the case of RAGBRAI, someone with a spinal cord injury, like Scott Porter of Orlando, Fla., can still ride across Iowa, however, using a hand bike or hand cycle. These types of bikes are powered by using the arms rather than the legs because many people with spinal cord injuries do not have use of their legs. Someone who may be blind can also take part in RAGBRAI with the use of a tandem bike and a sighted captain. The blind person, like Tay Blas of Iowa City, rides in the back and her captain rides in front.

?RAGBRAI is an unbelievable platform for our mission,? said Boone. ?As a state event, it?s the perfect way to help promote a state organization and provide opportunities to everyone.?

Last year, the Adaptive Sports Iowa RAGBRAI team had a handful of riders and volunteers. This year, the team came to about 40 people with volunteers and support people.

There were also many different states represented on the team. Blas, who is originally from Vermont, but attends law school in Iowa City, rode her first RAGBRAI last year. The experience was more than she could have asked for, so she convinced her friend from Washington, D.C. to do the ride this year, also on a tandem bike with a sighted captain.

?People on the team have overcome such barriers in their lives,? said Boone.

?They?re an outgoing group,? said Jim Lauzon, CEO of Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative. This year, RAGBRAI stopped in Anamosa overnight on July 27. Maquoketa Valley Electric hosted the Adaptive Sports team inside their facility, providing them with showers, air conditioning and handicap accessible sleeping arrangements, all in and around the RAGBRAI festivities.

Needing a place to stay overnight, Boone contacted the housing committee in Anamosa, arranging overnight accommodations. Maquoketa Valley Electric responded to the request. Boone came to Anamosa to inspect the facility to make sure it would work for their riders and meet their needs.

?We basically had two issues that needed to be addressed,? stated Patty Manuel, director of communications at Maquoketa Valley Electric. ?The first, to ensure the safety and comfort of our guests, and secondly to ensure the security of our business.?Leaving our building unlocked, yet secure was difficult.?

A security guard was on duty at all times to ensure the safety of the facility. The meeting room in the basement, accessible via an elevator, was transformed into a sleeping area with a kitchen. The shower and bathroom in the basement were also slightly remodeled to fit a wheelchair. They also arranged to have an ADA compliant portable restroom on site as well. Manuel said the employees gave up the use of the break room and kitchen for the day to allow riders to use the basement. Maquoketa Valley Electric had a dinner catered to the facility as well.

Manuel and Lauzon both said that it was a pleasure hosting the team. One of the business? core values is ?Commitment to Community? and this group seemed to require needs that most riders don?t have. Also, Maquoketa Valley Electric has an employee who is in a wheelchair and Lauzon said he wanted to introduce that employee to a wonderful group.

One of the riders mentioned earlier, Scott Porter, grew up in the Des Moines area and was a newspaper delivery boy, delivering the Des Moines Register. He said he has known about RAGBRAI forever and it was always on his radar as an event to participate in.

With a spinal cord injury,

By Kim Brooks

Express Editor

This year was Adaptive Sports Iowa?s second year participating in RAGBRAI, the annual bike ride across the State of Iowa. Now, those associated with the non-profit group are striving for more.

Adaptive Sports Iowa was established by Mike Boone, now the program?s director. As a native of Colorado, Boone was active in skiing and helping those with physical disabilities manage the slopes. According to Adaptive Sports Iowa?s website, Boone ?saw firsthand the hardships that those with?physical?disabilities face as he watched his father navigate life blind.?

?Disability is part of my life,? said Boone.

After Boone moved to Iowa, he realized there was no outlet for those ?solely dedicated to sports programming for the physically disabled.?

After some hard work, networking and the Iowa Sports Foundation, Adaptive Sports Iowa quickly grew and officially kicked off its mission in March of 2011. The organization?s goal is to: support and grow sport and recreation programs for?Iowa?s physically disabled population.

Since its inception, Adaptive Sports Iowa led the first ever disabled RAGBRAI team in 2011 and hosted its first adaptive sports ski clinic. They have also begun incorporating adaptive sports into the Iowa Special Olympic Games.

What are adaptive sports? The term means ?the adaptation or modification of sport and recreation. Adaptive sports are played by a person with physical disabilities. As many of these sports are based on existing sports modified to?accommodate?those with physical disabilities.?

In the case of RAGBRAI, someone with a spinal cord injury, like Scott Porter of Orlando, Fla., can still ride across Iowa, however, using a hand bike or hand cycle. These types of bikes are powered by using the arms rather than the legs because many people with spinal cord injuries do not have use of their legs. Someone who may be blind can also take part in RAGBRAI with the use of a tandem bike and a sighted captain. The blind person, like Tay Blas of Iowa City, rides in the back and her captain rides in front.

?RAGBRAI is an unbelievable platform for our mission,? said Boone. ?As a state event, it?s the perfect way to help promote a state organization and provide opportunities to everyone.?

Last year, the Adaptive Sports Iowa RAGBRAI team had a handful of riders and volunteers. This year, the team came to about 40 people with volunteers and support people.

There were also many different states represented on the team. Blas, who is originally from Vermont, but attends law school in Iowa City, rode her first RAGBRAI last year. The experience was more than she could have asked for, so she convinced her friend from Washington, D.C. to do the ride this year, also on a tandem bike with a sighted captain.

?People on the team have overcome such barriers in their lives,? said Boone.

?They?re an outgoing group,? said Jim Lauzon, CEO of Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative. This year, RAGBRAI stopped in Anamosa overnight on July 27. Maquoketa Valley Electric hosted the Adaptive Sports team inside their facility, providing them with showers, air conditioning and handicap accessible sleeping arrangements, all in and around the RAGBRAI festivities.

Needing a place to stay overnight, Boone contacted the housing committee in Anamosa, arranging overnight accommodations. Maquoketa Valley Electric responded to the request. Boone came to Anamosa to inspect the facility to make sure it would work for their riders and meet their needs.

?We basically had two issues that needed to be addressed,? stated Patty Manuel, director of communications at Maquoketa Valley Electric. ?The first, to ensure the safety and comfort of our guests, and secondly to ensure the security of our business.?Leaving our building unlocked, yet secure was difficult.?

A security guard was on duty at all times to ensure the safety of the facility. The meeting room in the basement, accessible via an elevator, was transformed into a sleeping area with a kitchen. The shower and bathroom in the basement were also slightly remodeled to fit a wheelchair. They also arranged to have an ADA compliant portable restroom on site as well. Manuel said the employees gave up the use of the break room and kitchen for the day to allow riders to use the basement. Maquoketa Valley Electric had a dinner catered to the facility as well.

Manuel and Lauzon both said that it was a pleasure hosting the team. One of the business? core values is ?Commitment to Community? and this group seemed to require needs that most riders don?t have. Also, Maquoketa Valley Electric has an employee who is in a wheelchair and Lauzon said he wanted to introduce that employee to a wonderful group.

One of the riders mentioned earlier, Scott Porter, grew up in the Des Moines area and was a newspaper delivery boy, delivering the Des Moines Register. He said he has known about RAGBRAI forever and it was always on his radar as an event to participate in.

With a spinal cord injury, Porter had been preparing for RAGBRAI for some time now with the goal of joining in 2013. When he heard about Adaptive Sports Iowa and its RAGBRAI team, he decided to start his RAGBRAI experience a year earlier.

?It?s been great!? exclaimed Porter of the trip. Sadly, Porter?s weeklong ride ended early when a bicyclist ran into the back of his hand bike, flipping on top of Porter, injuring his shoulder.

?I?ll be back next year though,? said Porter, who hopes to complete the full route then.

Of training for the event, Porter said, ?It?s not like taking the midterms.? He said RAGBRAI is not something you can just do on a whim; it takes training and practice. He was up to 25 miles a day, but said he needs to increase that.

He said all along the route, people have been welcoming and cheering them on.

Tay Blas did her first RAGBRAI last year and loved it so much decided to do it again.

?I love sports and team sports,? she said.

Growing up, Blas said she couldn?t participate in swimming so she decided to branch out. Blas was born prematurely, which affected her eyesight. She is not completely blind; she can see shapes and contrast.

Riding on a tandem bike, she explained the captain in front is the one to shift and steer, but the two pedal together, which is helpful up hill. In Blas? case, she likes to have her captain describe the scenery to her as they make their way across Iowa. Blas said she likes to know what the sky and landscapes look like. Her captain also indicates if they are about to pedal uphill or downhill or if there are people riding nearby. One day, a man dressed in a banana costume was coming up on their bike, so Blas? captain told her to say hi to the ?Banana Man? as he rode by.

?This year?s RAGBRAI was a challenge,? she said of the hot days.

As for all blind riders, Blas said they are all different whether they prefer their captain to describe the land or to indicate certain situations along the way.

?It?s difficult to find captains,? indicated Blas. She said that is why Adaptive Sports Iowa is so important to the sport. Blas said her friend wanted to do RAGBRAI but didn?t have a captain. Adaptive Sports helped her pair up with someone willing to assist.

?We couldn?t do this without them (Adaptive Sports),? said Blas. ?We can all ride to the best of our ability.?

With RAGBRAI over with, Blas has another event to start training for, her first triathlon. She is training with a guide for the swimming, running and biking events.

?It?s great for us to be able to be part of an event of our peers,? said Boone.

Adaptive Sports Iowa is a year-round program, consisting of so many great opportunities for people with physical disabilities to stay active on a regular basis.

?Our RAGBRAI team was just like any other team,? said Boone. He said they referred to regular bikers as ?shoe users? and their team as ?wheelchair users.?

?We hope to be a fixture of RAGBRAI for years to come!? Boone said.

To learn more about Adaptive Sports Iowa and their mission, visit www.adaptivesportsiowa.org.

PHOTOS: Top: Riders with spinal cord injuries or other physical disabilities use hand bikes to participate in RAGBRAI. Here, a line of Adaptive Sports Iowa cyclists make their way along a route while using their hand bikes. Bottom: Tay Blas of Iowa City rides on a tandem bike with her sighted captain. Blas is blind and has now participated in her second RAGBRAI experience as a member of Team Adaptive Sports Iowa. (Photos submitted)

Source: http://monticelloexpress.com/pages/?p=5118

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