Adaptive Sports: Just a bunch of mountain bikers - Alta, WY

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Just a bunch of mountain bikers Teton Valley News

Wydaho cultivates an inclusive festival scene
Alta, WY - This Labor Day weekend mountain bikers will once again descend on Grand Targhee to ride trails, practice skills, test next year’s equipment, and celebrate being part of a regional community at the Wydaho Rendezvous Teton Bike Festival.

While mountain bike festivals are common across the west, Teton Adaptive Sports director of mission Joe Stone says that Wydaho may be one of the largest gatherings of adaptive mountain bikers.

Stone, a quadriplegic cyclist, paraglider, and paddler, was first invited to Grand Targhee back in 2013 to test out some of the trails for adaptive accessibility. At the time, the resort had a couple flow downhill trails and some cross country trails that worked for someone riding a wider Handcycle or adaptive bike. In 2014, Stone started inviting other adaptive athletes to the Wydaho Rendezvous, put on by Teton Valley Trails & Pathways.

“It’s about having a really good time among our peers without disabilities,” he said. “It gives us the opportunity to make the full circle of what inclusivity can look like—it’s just a bunch of people who love riding bikes.”

Tony Ferlisi, TVTAP’s 2022 festival organizer, agreed. “That’s the coolest thing for me, that it creates a truly inclusive mountain bike festival. The group rides are open to everyone, the clinics are open to everyone—there are some segmented pieces because there’s nuance to adaptive technique, but for the most part, everyone’s a part of this big mountain bike community, riding together, having a beer, just hanging out.”

“With such a central location, you can pull up, camp, access bathrooms and showers, you don’t have to shuttle a car or gear,” Stone said. “All that you have to do is break off into group rides that fit your ability level, expert downhill or cross country, or intermediate, or total newbies who need one-on-one coaching.”

He added that the resort crew, especially lift operators, go the extra mile to help people, and TVTAP includes disabled people in the planning conversations to make sure nothing crucial gets missed.

For some, even the concept of camping is new. Stone recalled one woman who decided to come to Wydaho around five years ago from LA. She had to go to a big box store to buy all new camping gear. Sleeping in the meadow at Grand Targhee and riding bikes with likeminded people was such a transformative experience for her that she now lives full time in her truck camper and travels the country riding.

“It was really the spark that led her to improve her quality of life,” Stone said. “There’s such a community aspect—we provide meals, we hang out, get to know each other. Newbies can gain so much by surrounding themselves with people who are experienced, and then they can take that knowledge and run with it.”

At Wydaho, riders get to talk to vendors and try out next year’s models. That aspect of the festival is even more important to adaptive riders, who want to test equipment that is very specific and often prohibitively expensive.

Bike-On (Facebook page found here), a large online distributor of handcycles, recumbent and adaptive bikes, and wheelchairs, will be a new presence in the vendor fair, and organizations from across the region are partnering with Teton Adaptive Sports and bringing their own fleets of adaptive equipment. TAS also offers Wydaho festival pass scholarships for people who want to attend but can’t cover the cost.

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