A total of 625 cyclists, including 24 adaptive athletes riding handcyclists participated in the recent Kelly Brush Century Ride Powered by VBT Bicycle and Walking Vacations, reports a Kelly Brush release. More than 100 volunteers supported the riders during the trip through the Champlain Valley, raising $250,000 to support spinal cord injury (SCI) prevention and ski racing safety.
The release notes that the funds raised by the ride will go to support the Kelly Brush Foundation’s mission to overcome the challenges of paralysis through the love of sport. The funds will also go to benefit the foundation’s goal to increase ski racing safety by assisting ski clubs and race programs nationwide with purchasing safety netting and other equipment to improve race course safety and prevent SCIs.
Charlie Brush, Kelly Brush Foundation president, offers a “huge thank you” to the cyclists, adding that, “Every single cyclist who participates in the ride plays an essential role in meeting our mission. With each piece of adaptive equipment the foundation underwrites for an adaptive athlete and each roll of safety netting the foundation helps a ski club procure, we are making a difference,” Brush emphasizes.
The ride originated as way for the Middlebury College ski team to raise money to purchase an adaptive mono-ski for team member Kelly Brush, who was paralyzed following a ski racing crash. Brush and her family later founded the foundation that bears her name and opened the ride to the public.
Source: Kelly Brush Foundation