Sign In Sept. 2011
Fundraising Effort for New Handcycle
World-class handcyclist Alicia Dana of Putney had her training set back when someone stole her $8,000 custom handcycle this summer. Her community rallied and began raising funds to replace the handcycle, and it was eventually returned due to all the publicity. However, the fundraising group wants to continue raising money to purchase a new handcycle for Dana, as her bike is a 1999 model.
Dana, 42, had to abandon her bike on the side of the road after getting a flat tire. That’s when someone took the bike, putting a damper on her training for the USA Cycling Paracycling National Championships happening in June in Augusta, Georgia.
“It’s 11 years old,” said fundraiser organizer Dede Cummings, “and would not serve Dana well in top-level competition. The top competitors in the world and national championships are using cycles that are newer, much lighter, more ergonomic, and faster. So we have shifted the goal of this effort. We want to send Alicia to the championships with the best possible handcycle.”
A lifelong athlete, Dana began biking at 14 and competed in nationals for two years. When she was a senior at The Putney School, she fell 40 feet from a tree, becoming paralyzed from the waist down. She did some wheelchair racing, but when handcycles were invented, she got into racing more seriously. Her achievements include handcycling from Washington state to Vermont to raise money and awareness for disability-related causes; being the National Criterion champion; winning Challenge Alaska (a six-day stage race from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska); and winning the Women’s Handcycle Division of the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon.
To help Dana purchase a new handcycle and get to the competition in Georgia, visit www.giveforward.com/handcycleforalicia.
Jericho Woman Wins ProXCT MTB Tour
Lea Davison (Specialized Factory) has won USA Cycling’s Pro Mountain Bike Cross-Country Tour, the highest level of professional mountain bike racing in the United States. She captured the title through a five-race series that started out in Bonelli Park, Calif., in March and ended in Missoula, Montana, in July. The tour requires consistency and podium finishes to take the overall title, as well as good fitness, all of which Davison brought to win big. She finished with 1,090 points, beating the next finisher by 180 points.
“I am truly ecstatic to have won the overall title, and also to cap off the series in winning fashion at the last race in Missoula,” Davison, of Jericho, said. “This was my first cross-country win of my career, and my first national series overall title, so it’s definitely been an exciting year.”
In 2010, Davison was sidelined for the entire season because she had a hip labral tear repaired in April. “I really had no idea what to expect for a season after no racing or training, and this season has gone well beyond my expectations,” she said. “I put in a lot of time with Bill Knowles at iSport and Vermont Orthopaedic Clinic with the goal of coming back stronger from this injury, and my journey from the 2010 season to the 2011 season really makes the victory even sweeter. It is a testament to the excellent support team I had surrounding me during my comeback from injury.”
Her team includes coach Andy Bishop of Williston, a former pro rider. “He is a big part of my success this season, and my bike career in general,” Davison said.
Davison, with her sister Sabra, gives back to her sport, by mentoring girls aged 9 to 13 who are getting into mountain biking through a program called Little Bellas.
Our sincerest congratulations to Davison, and we can’t wait to see what she does next!
Fairfax Woman Competing for Bike Business Grant
Joan Denizot, owner of Fairfax-based Super Sized Cycles and producer of Zize bikes, will compete with hundreds of other aspiring women entrepreneurs for vital small-business growth resources at the M3 1000 event, to be held in Philadelphia Sept. 25–26.
Super Sized Cycles are designed for people who weigh up to 550 pounds. The bicycles have helped people lose weight and get in shape. A contestant on Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition used a Zize on his journey to losing 300 pounds.
Denizot began her business after she had trouble finding a bike that would support her weight.
In September, she will give a two-minute elevator pitch on why she should receive the business growth resources, at the “American Idol” meets “Apprentice” type of event. A panel of judges will select pitch winners from the participants, who will then receive prizes and move on to the final round to collect additional resources. Pitch winners will submit full applications and company financial information for final consideration as M3 1000 awardees.
We wish this Vermontrepreneur good luck!