A Few Thoughts From The BORP Ride

Every year since his spinal cord injury, Robb and I have participated in the BORP Revolution, a fundraising ride for a local organization that uses sports and recreation as a catalyst to improve quality-of-life for people with physical disabilities.

We ride with disabled cyclists and their families, and over the years, we've seen some of the same people again and again.  Some folks make such an impression on us, that we remember them even if we haven't seen them in years.

We met this memorable father-and-son team back in 2012.  Clearly, the first thing we noticed was Zulu and his purple everything, but what really caught our eye was  Garnett cranking his kids' sized hand-cycle.  He was riding the 20 mile ride, powered by his arms, and a bit of a power-assist from his dad's tow-rope.  There was something about their energy and teamwork that really stuck with me.

Seven years later, we bumped into them again.  Zulu is as purple as ever.  And Garnett is still cranking hard, still full of positive energy.  He's now a young adult, with a circle of great BORP friends, and the support of his family.

Thanks to BORP, Garnett is a competitive athlete in sled hockey, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair motocross.  (He's wearing the green-and-yellow Jamaica jersey in the video, which was shot at the WCMX & Adaptive Skate World Championships last year.  He won a medal in his division.)





Imagine seeing a disabled kid, and thinking "in a few years, this kid is going to be doing insane stunts at the skate park, flipping cartwheels in his wheelchair."

For BORP kids, that's totally normal.

That's why we keep coming back.