BOISE, Idaho — This week, the Idaho Challenged Athletes Foundation welcomes adaptive athletes for a mountain biking weekend, but the "weekend" has also grown into nearly a week of events.
One of those events includes the bike build, as Noel Joyce made a trip from Ireland to build a bike he designed through Project Mjolnir — a project with a concept that has the blueprints available so people can build their own bike or tune up a bike they already have.
"It was based off my frustration of having to wait a long time," said Joyce. "I think what people don’t realize is often times people with disabilities have a shorter amount of time to enjoy the sports just because it is just more difficult with a disability."
During the bike build, some of the local adaptive athletes watched Joyce work to learn about the bike. Having a disability means that the equipment needs to be built for a rider to make sure it is a good fit.
The Idaho Challenged Athletes Foundation makes an effort to make sure every rider has a bike that works for them. It's all part of a clinic that also includes specialized training for coaches, a dinner for the athletes, and group rides.
"This is our fifth year doing this event, and the first year we did it, we had about 12 participants. I was calling people begging people to come out and participate, and now it is one of the largest adaptive mountain bike gatherings in the world," said Wilson Dippo of the Idaho Challenged Athletes Foundation. "We have 60 participants, 15 to 20 of our coaches are adaptive riders themselves, and the atmosphere is just the best."
There will be three days of riding with group rides and coaching on the trails in the foothills on Friday and Saturday. The clinic will culminate with race day on Sunday at Bogus Basin, where our local adaptive athletes are excited to ride.
"Yeah, I am," said Diana Davis-Witt. "It is going to be really good this time, it is going to be super fun because I have more experience now."
The bike Joyce worked on took two and a half days to build last year, so him almost finishing it in one day this time around at this clinic shows not only the growth for adaptive athletes, but also their equipment and the people working so hard to make sure people with disabilities get a chance to thrive.
"I love being here doing this, it is just pretty fun," said Joyce. "I also get to see all the other types of bikes, get some influence and inspiration about what we want to do next, and how we can change things to make things better for everyone.”
