Vermont Adaptive produces the event at the Fox U.S. Open at Killington Resort. This will be its fourth year. The race is the only adaptive downhill race held East of the Mississippi River, according to Vermont Adaptive’s blog.
Trail accessibility for mountain bikers of all abilities, including adaptive riders, got a big boost this year with the addition of dedicated funding from the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC). In total, 51 projects split the annual investment of over $6 million — the most awarded to date — to help spur Vermont’s outdoor recreation economy.
This year the state awarded $196,585 to conduct a recreator survey and economic impact analysis for adaptive recreation and $644,437 for the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council in partnership with Vermont Adaptive, Northern Forest Canoe Trail, Vermont Mountain Bike Association, Upper Valley Trails Alliance, and Community Geo, to develop a statewide trail accessibility hub and complete detailed trail assessments in order to promote and share high-quality information about trail access across the state.
The Vermont Trail Accessibility Hub, a collaborative initiative, is aimed at providing the resources and information needed to make Vermont’s trails more accessible to a wider number of individuals, including those with differences in physical mobility.
Out of nearly 8,000 miles of trails and waterways in Vermont, only a fraction are truly accessible for people living with disabilities and experiencing mobility challenges, according to a recent Vermont Adaptive blog post. The Hub plans to use its $644,000 grant award to promote outdoor equity by increasing the resources needed to develop and promote accessible trails statewide.
“The Trail Accessibility Hub not only allows existing organizations and trail builders to scale up the efforts to improve mountain biking, water and pedestrian access to hundreds of locations across the state, it also allows us to more effectively learn from and coordinate with other organizations also working to enhance trail accessibility,” said Erin Fernandez, executive director of Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, a partner organization with the Trail Accessibility Hub. “The [Hub] will significantly accelerate both the rate at which we can make more of Vermont’s multipurpose trail networks ‘adaptive-friendly’ and help us solidify Vermont as an accessible outdoor recreation destination.”
“Vermont is accessible, Vermont is for everybody and there are more places to play,” said Jeff Alexander, the director of strategic partnerships and business development at Vermont Adaptive. “Everybody deserves to play and have the ability to get out.”
The state initiative to increase tourism with the explosion of mountain bike trails and riders flocking to the state, specifically includes projects that focus on diversity and inclusion. VOREC projects awarded this year fall into one of four tracks: implementation, project development, outdoor equity, and flood recovery.
It’s the first time the grant program has specifically encouraged projects focused on outdoor equity to apply to a dedicated funding track. Grant recipient Arwen Turner, executive director of Come Alive Outside, said: “Come Alive Outside is thrilled to receive funding through the VOREC Community Grant Program’s Outdoor Equity track. This funding supports the continued work of Come Alive Outside’s Outdoors For All Initiative, a collective of organizations, businesses, and advisors with experience representing underserved and underrepresented populations in outdoor recreation. This funding will boost the collective’s ability to develop both simple and highly innovative solutions that make accessing the health, wellness, and joy benefits of outdoor activities in Rutland more equitable.”
“These grants are an investment in Vermont’s future,” said Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore. “They will help communities revitalize their outdoor recreation assets, create jobs, improve access to nature for everyone, and build stronger, more resilient communities for generations to come.”
For adaptive riders, trail width and turning radius are most important. Trails need to be at least 3 feet wide for accessible bikes. Sometimes trails aren’t accessible because of parking or problems getting to the trails themselves.
“I think it’s needed, I don’t think most people know that adaptive biking is a thing,” said Ben Hannibal, an adaptive rider. “I think people would realize how many things we can do.”
Racing the USO main downhill track, Goat Skull, is a surefire way to change people’s minds about adaptive riders’ abilities! The double black diamond trail features lots of rocks and mandatory drops and is described on Trailforks as a “rowdy trail.”
Hannibal, who lives in Washington, D.C., heard about adaptive mountain bike opportunities in Vermont through an Instagram post in 2021.
“I saw a guy I follow who was doing it and so I was like, ‘I want to do it’,” he said.
Since, he’s made it up to Vermont to ride about one a summer.
Hannibal grew up in Maryland and spent most of his days outside before failed spinal surgery in 2006 left him partially paralyzed. He now works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
“To have a chance to mountain bike again is rewarding,” he said. “I like being out in the woods, you have that peace, you’re climbing these hills, you’re being outside.”
For Greg Durso, a paraplegic and program director at the Kelly Brush Foundation (KBF), being outside is just as important now as it was before a sledding accident in Ludlow left him partially paralyzed.
“To me being active is so important and part of my identity, but even more important, being in a wheelchair, it helps you thrive post-injury, introduces you to a new community of people, gets you out of the house, helps in getting back to work,” said Durso on the KBF website. “It has so many facets that help you physically, socially and mentally and sets you up for success. It also translates to everyone else in life too, so you can connect with others on so many different levels.”
