All about adaptive mountain biking
Adaptive Mountain Biking is growing rapidly thanks to some fantastic organisations and enthusiastic riders. Will Shaw finds out more about this emerging group of riders.
Words: Will Shaw
Photos: AusCycling, Breaking the Boundary, Sue Hendy, Bowhead Corp
If you’re reading this magazine, you probably think mountain biking is fantastic. Perhaps you’ve encouraged friends and family to give riding a go, and some of them have probably stuck at it. There’s no doubt mountain biking is absolutely booming right now with plenty of new faces from all backgrounds on the trails, which is great to see.
One user group that’s growing rapidly are adaptive mountain bikers. If you don’t know what adaptive mountain biking is, it allows people who aren’t able to ride a regular bike for a range of reasons to enjoy the thrill of mountain biking. There’s a range of adaptive bikes that suit people with differing levels of need. In this article I talked with three organisations who’re working hard to increase participation in adaptive mountain biking.
Break the Boundary:
Break the Boundary (BTB) are a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2012 that advocate for the inclusion of people with physical and neurological disabilities in mountain biking. They’re the leaders in Australia’s adaptive space with their physical hub at Kalamunda in Perth, and a small but committed group of volunteers who’re working hard to run clinics, programmes, one on one sessions, and apply for government grants.
I spoke with Wade Jarvis, BTB’s Deputy Chairperson, Auscycling and Adaptive Coach to learn more about the challenges faced with adaptive mountain biking, and what the future looks like. According to Wade, more and more people are giving adaptive mountain biking a go.
‘We have all sorts of people coming to our Kalamunda trail hub, and with our ten electric assist bikes we’re able to cater to a range of different needs. We’ve also got the first targeted participation program for adaptive mountain biking running right now, which is a 2-day free program funded by the West Australian Government to allow people to give adaptive riding a go.’
As people’s needs differ greatly, BTB’s fleet of ten electric assist adaptive bikes allow them to get more people out riding, and there’s plans to add more bikes to the fleet.
‘The electric assist is great as it allows us to get the most amount of people out on the trails. Our volunteer mechanics convert some of our bikes to eBikes, and we’ve had manufacturers contact us for direct feedback so they can improve models into the future! We’ve got a broad spectrum of bikes in our fleet, and there’s another one coming that’s joystick operated, which will get more people out there. Whilst our vision is that people could have their own bike, at around $23,000 these bikes are pretty cost prohibitive currently, which is why funding is so important,’
There is growing interest nationally in facilitating adaptive mountain biking by assessing trails, providing amenities, and in some cases a physical hub like BTB’s Kalamunda facility.
‘We’re seeing more and more interest nationally to cater to adaptive mountain biking. Lake Mountain Alpine Resort (LMAR) in Victoria is the Victorian hub for BTB, and they’ll have bikes as well as a building for storage and socialising like our Kalamunda site. We’ve had adaptive riders involved in the consultation around trails and amenities at LMAR (who just received some major Victorian Government funding), and this will continue in the future. Andrew (BTB’s founder Andrew Liddawi) and I are hoping to head over to Victoria around November to check out the trails and amenities on offer. For adaptive mountain biking the amenities are almost as important as the trails themselves, so Andrew has created a world first rating system that allows trail destinations to be audited to assess if they’re adaptive suitable.’
The interest goes further than just Victoria. BTB are in talks with the Sunshine Coast Council regarding the Sugar Bag Road Mountain Bike Trails, who’re also keen to be an official partner of BTB in Queensland. Back in WA, Wade says the Goat Farm have recently opened an adaptive specific trail called Breaking Boundaries.
‘The Goat Farm has always been a real patchy trail network, but they’ve recently put in some major development work that has included an adaptive friendly loop, with the descending trail being called Breaking Boundaries, which is cool to see. It will be great to see big black lines and adaptive lines in the same network!’
If you headed over to BTB’s website (www.breaktheboundary.com.au) or checked out their Kalamunda hub you’d be surprised to learn that it’s a completely volunteer operated operation (as well as being a not-for-profit organisation that accepts tax deductible donations). Wade says that whilst BTB being able to function at such a high level is due to a few dedicated volunteers pouring lots of time, effort, and expertise in various areas, it’s so rewarding what they get back for their efforts.
‘I get more from helping these people than they get from me. Every time I go out riding with someone it’s incredible to see the enjoyment they get from a ride or tackling a trail feature. They’re so engaged with the process and at the end of the day we’re all mountain bikers, so we should all enjoy riding together.’
Wade says that if you see an adaptive mountain biker on the trail, having a chat with them or riding with them could have a bigger impact than you think.
‘Sometimes as mountain bikers’ people can be quite blinkered regarding who they ride with. If you see an adaptive rider when you’re out riding, why not have a chat with them or ride with them?’
Want to make a tax-deductible donation to Break the Boundary? Click here.
Lake Mountain Alpine Resort:
Lake Mountain Alpine Resort is the Break the Boundary hub for Victoria, and they’re getting behind adaptive mountain biking in a big way. They’re creating adaptive mountain bike friendly trails as well as welcoming adaptive mountain bikers of all skill levels, and I spoke to their Visitor Experience Supervisor Sue Hendy to find out more. Sue says that mountain biking as a whole is growing at Lake Mountain, and they want to cater to every user group with their trail network and amenities.
‘Mountain biking has been growing rapidly at Lake Mountain. We’ve got a variety of trails here, and the feedback from all users is that the trails are awesome. We’ve got our flagship Cascades Trail, which is 30 kilometres long and drops more than 1300 vertical metres. A few weeks ago we had a group of adaptive riders down Cascades, and they had an awesome time judging by the fist pumping at the pub afterwards! On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve put in an all-abilities trail that’s great for a wide variety of users from adaptive riders to families that aren’t super experienced off road.’
Sue says that approaching Break the Boundary was a logical step to get a better understanding around the needs of adaptive mountain bikers.
‘One of my roles at Lake Mountain is to ensure our services cater to all members of the community. I couldn’t think of a reason why we wouldn’t want to partner with Break the Boundary, and I’m proud to announce that Lake Mountain is the Break the Boundary hub for Victoria. This means we’ll have bikes for people to come and try, volunteers to go riding with them, and obviously plenty of trails for them to enjoy!’
Sue says that Lake Mountain have big plans for adaptive riding moving forward.
‘We’re launching an adaptive mountain bike program in November. We’ll be working with hospital staff who’re introducing rehab patients to new activities. We’ll be hosting come and try days, and the physical hub will be great for these events as well as just people meeting up, working on bikes, and riding bikes. We’re also looking at our existing trail network and making alterations for adaptive riding where necessary.’
The Handlebar Café and Cycle City Hire:
Another group that’s committed to overcoming the limitations placed on adaptive mountain biking are the owners of the Handlebar Café and Cycle City Hire, which are popular businesses located in Canberra’s world-renowned Stromlo Forest Park. The owners of these businesses have donated $6000 and are trying to crowdfund $60,000 in total to get two Bowhead Adaptive eMTB bikes custom made. These bikes will be available for people to enjoy free of charge.
Rowan Cumming is a co-owner of the Handlebar Café and Cycle City Hire, and I spoke to him about their ambitious plan. He said the idea for sourcing the Bowhead adaptive eBikes came about as the owners wanted to give back to the community and make mountain biking at Mt Stromlo more inclusive.
‘The owners of The Handlebar and Cycle City Hire have been enjoying riding at Mt Stromlo for decades. Since we opened our businesses, we’ve been overwhelmed by the support of the mountain bike community, and we wanted to give back. Initially we were tossing around the idea of specific adaptive mountain bike trails at Stromlo, but then we came across the Bowhead bikes. The beauty of the Bowhead bikes is that they’re designed to ride on regular trails, as the width of the two front wheels is only as wide as a set of handlebars.’
Using adaptive eBikes is another big advantage in furthering accessibility, says Rowan.
‘Most of the riding at Stromlo is a loop format, with a climb from the carpark followed by a descent. We want riders to be able to experience the full spectrum of trails on offer at without needing a shuttle, and the eBikes make this much more attainable.’
If you head to the Bowhead website, not only will you see riders nailing technical singletrack aboard their bikes, but you’ll also notice that there’s a heap of options when it comes to the bikes and what kind of rider they’ll suit. Rowan says Bowhead have been incredibly helpful in pointing them in the right direction regarding what type of bikes would be best for the broadest number of riders.
‘From our discussions with Bowhead they’ve been pretty forthcoming regarding what a good starting point is in terms of the bike. From the people we’ve spoken to with experience in this space we’ve been told to focus on the people rather than the bike. To this end RideTechnics have come on board to create an introductory course free of charge to get riders familiar with the bike before setting off. The initial phases will of course be a learning process for all of us, but we’ve already had interest in the bikes which is great.’
There are several organisations working in the adaptive mountain bike space in Australia. Break the Boundary and Access Adventures are both fantastic organisations supporting adaptive mountain biking. Rowan says they’re keen to get these organisations involved with events when the bikes arrive.
‘Once we’ve got the bikes, we’re keen to partner with the organisations that already exist and do a great job in this space. We’ve had some discussions around travelling to other events like Cannonball as well, and working with the organisers to host an adaptive race on the Flow trail,’
Whilst there’s a long way to go before they reach their goal of $60,000 to fund two bikes, Rowan says they’re aiming high and starting off with two bikes because who can deny that it’s not more fun riding with mates!
‘I think most people would agree that the best rides are with mates. You’re in the bush getting some green time, exercise, and an experience in nature that you don’t get all that often in everyday life as an adult. For people living with a disability this can be even more difficult, so we’re going to keep pushing our fundraising to give this opportunity to as many people as possible.’
Want to donate? Click here.
