ASF Opens Summer Season With WIM Road Cycling

WINDHAM — The Adaptive Sports Foundation will kick off its action-packed summer programming next week with its three-day Warriors in Motion® Road Cycling Program, scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, through Thursday, May 15.

The ASF will welcome 10 veterans to the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center on Tuesday afternoon. Participants will meet with ASF staff and volunteers before enjoying a welcome lunch, a safety course on road cycling, and fittings for bikes and other equipment.

Army veteran Matt Garrad will be one of the participants cycling with the ASF. He said he is looking forward to the physical activity, as well as the camaraderie that the Warriors in Motion program offers.

“I genuinely love the company and camaraderie of my fellow veterans. This cycling program is great, but adding folks who are going through similar issues as me and we can talk about different challenges we have and solutions makes it that much better,” Garrad said. “Also, and this may be overlooked, but going to the grocery store with my disability can be a nightmare, so having a few days where I don’t have to worry about meals is a welcome break.”

Garrad and the rest of the WIM participants will first get on their bikes Tuesday afternoon for a 10-mile ride around Windham. Afterward, the veterans will check into the Hotel Vienna and relax before enjoying a catered dinner at the ASF Lodge.

On Wednesday, ASF staff will pick up the veterans from the hotel and head to Palenville, where they will begin a full-day ride. The group will cycle to Woodstock, where they’ll rest and have lunch at Andy Lee Field. They will then ride back to Palenville, completing a 25-mile route. That evening, the ASF shuttle will return participants to their hotel for rest before another catered dinner at the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center.

The week’s final ride will take place Thursday morning. The route, still to be determined, will be shorter and more leisurely after the intense ride on Wednesday. After the final ride, participants will return to the ASF Lodge for lunch before departing.

Garrad said he sees this program as a stepping stone toward a longtime goal.

“I’ve had a goal to bike the Empire State Trail for a long time, from Manhattan to Albany, then out to Buffalo,” Garrad said.

The Empire State Trail is a rail trail that begins in lower Manhattan and travels north to Albany, where it splits. Riders can either continue north to the Canadian border or head west to Buffalo.

“Before the injuries I sustained, I always wanted to hike or bike great distances—the Appalachian Trail, for instance. Despite my disabilities, I still have those goals, and through working with the ASF and other veteran programs, I find myself in good enough health where I can set more reasonable, but still challenging, goals for myself, and the Empire State Trail is one of them,” he said. “I would like to do it for myself, as well as my veteran friends who I’ve spoken to who are struggling. I want them to see that although it isn’t easy, if I can reset my life over time, they can too.”

Thanks to grants and private donations, the ASF provides equipment, helmets, water bottles, all meals, hotel accommodations, snacks, drinks, sunscreen, bug spray, ponchos (if needed), and both digital and printed maps.