WINDHAM — Seven retired U.S. Military Veterans traveled a total of 50 miles on bicycle during the Adaptive Sports Foundation's (ASF) Warriors in Motion® (WIM) intermediate road cycling program, which concluded on Thursday afternoon.
The ASF welcomed seven wounded veterans into the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center on Tuesday afternoon, where they met with the ASF staff and volunteers who will be riding with them all week. After being treated to lunch, the warriors were fitted for safety equipment and got accustomed to their bikes before setting out for the week’s first ride. The WIM group departed from the Windham Mountain Club parking lot and headed to Hensonville. They made a left on Maplecrest Road and rode County Route 65 to State Route 23 into the town of Windham before looping back to Windham Mountain Club. The group returned to the ASF lodge for some stretching before the participants checked into their hotel rooms and rested before a catered dinner at the ASF.
Wednesday’s ride was a 24-mile trek from Windham to Phoenicia and began at 9:30 a.m. at the Windham Mountain Club parking lot. The WIM group rode along State Route 296, conquering the hills all the way to the town of Hunter. After riding through the ski town, the participants headed south on State Route 214 and enjoyed a lunch and a brief respite at Devil’s Tombstone Campsite. Once everyone was fed, they completed their journey into Phoenicia, where the ASF shuttle bus picked them up and brought them back to Windham. The warriors finished the ride earlier than expected, so the ASF brought some to Colgate Lake to enjoy the sunshine and the warm weather, while others stayed in Windham to enjoy a round of golf at Windham Golf Club. When 5:30 p.m. rolled around, the participants met back at the ASF lodge for another catered dinner.
The final ride of the week came on Thursday morning, and the WIM participants departed once again from the Windham Mountain Club parking lot and headed east into Maplecrest to CD Lane Park. The ride to the local park, plus a little extra, and back to Windham Mountain Club allowed the group to reach the 50-mile milestone. The ASF held a barbecue lunch for the veterans before they departed.
“The ASF means a lot to me. The WIM program allows me to get outdoors and get stronger, especially with my knee injury,” U.S. Army veteran Milagros Rivera explained. “This program is the best thing that has happened to me, I feel like I’m living again.”
The ASF will be putting away its fleet of road bikes for the season, as the next WIM program will take some veterans into the forest for a three-day, two-night backpacking trip in the Northern Catskill Mountains wilderness. That program will take place on June 25-27.
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