Hundreds of Cyclists Ready to Spin for SCI Prevention Saturday
Hundreds of bicyclists will line up in Middlebury, Vt. on Saturday to raise money so others like them, but living with spinal cord injury, can experience the same love of sport that they do. Vermont’s largest charity bike ride, the Kelly Brush Century Ride powered by VBT Bicycle and Walking Vacations, benefits adaptive athletes and supports spinal cord injury prevention.
Last year, over 700 riders and 24 handcyclists raised more than $275,000 for the Kelly Brush Foundation.
In addition to being the largest ride of its type in the state, the event is one of New England’s largest for adaptive athletes using handcycles. Funds raised by the bicyclists and handcyclists who participate go towards helping adaptive athletes with spinal cord injuries purchase specialized equipment that allows them to participate in sports such as skiing, cycling, bowling, rowing and even scuba diving.
“Conquering the challenges of paralysis through the love of sport is what the Kelly Brush Century Ride is all about,” said Kelly Brush Foundation President Charlie Brush. “The Kelly Brush Foundation has helped adaptive athletes get back to sports by providing grants for over 40 pieces of adaptive athletic equipment. While each piece of equipment ranges from $3,500 to $6,000, the quality of life improvement for the athletes is immeasurable.”
The ride also supports the foundation’s mission to improve ski racing safety. Funds raised by riders have helped the foundation purchase over 400 miles of safety netting for ski race courses across the country and have supported a national campaign to improve race course safety.
The scenic route through the Champlain Valley starts at Middlebury College and heads along the lake, winding through Charlotte and Shelburne before looping back.
Riders can chose to ride 25, 50 or 100 mile routes. New for this year is a 25-mile loop. Previous years’ 25-mile course was a point-to-point ride that required a shuttle back to the start.
The ride was started by the Middlebury College Ski Team as a way to raise money to buy an adaptive mono-ski for team member Kelly Brush, who was paralyzed as the result of a ski racing crash. Brush and her family later founded a non-profit, and the ride was opened to the public.
Online registration is open through midnight Wednesday, Sept. 5. Day of event registration is also available. To register online visit: www.kellybrushfoundation.org
The Kelly Brush Century Ride powered by VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations is made possible thanks to the generosity of participants and sponsors including: VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations, Shearer Audi, Sugarbush Resort, KeyBank, Saatchi & Saatchi, World Cup Supply and others.
About the foundation: The Kelly Brush Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving ski racing safety, enhancing the quality of life for those with spinal cord injury(SCI) through providing adaptive sports equipment, advancing scientific research on SCI and supporting the U.S. Adaptive Ski Team. Kelly Brush, together with her family, started the foundation in 2006 after she sustained a severe spinal cord injury while racing in NCAA Div. 1 competition as a member of the Middlebury College Ski Team in Vermont. The Kelly Brush Foundation affirms Kelly’s ongoing commitment to live life on her own terms and better the lives of others living with SCI. www.kellybrushfoundation.org