MOAB, Utah — Four adaptive cyclists, Annijke Wade, Josie Fouts, Roger Withers, and Steven Wilke, embarked on a challenge to complete Moab and Canyonlands National Park’s 100-mile White Rim Trail in one day. With the help of the National Ability Center, Outride, and Osseointegration, the diverse team of athletes prepared to cycle through the unique, challenging terrain that was hit with heavy rain just two nights before the ride.
“We arrived in Moab, and we were immediately confronted with a 100-year storm and 100-year flood,” Annijke Wade said. “That flood presented us with some additional challenges. We were unsure if we were going to be able to make it past a few of the features due to landslides. There were a lot of questions about what that would look like for para-athletes to be out there. I’m a full-time wheelchair user, and at the time of filming, I was one year and three months from my spinal cord injury, which made me a full-time wheelchair user. Getting off my bike is not really an option for this ride and these obstacles, so I really had to depend on the people I was riding with to help get me through some of those tricky sections or spot me in areas of increased exposure.”