Thrilling Trail Day at the Sawtooth Network

It was weeks in the planning, and when the ride day finally rolled around it didn’t disappoint. The trail day included athletes with all ability levels learning, exploring, and testing limits on trails ranging from packed dirt to feature-rich rock gardens and more. Which is to say … there was plenty of action all around.

There were a range of “rigs” available to ride for the adaptive athletes furnished for the day by the City of Reno represented by April Wolfe, Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. April is a major advocate for adaptive riders and has helped transform the accessible riding scene in the region. The City’s rental adaptive bike fleet is important to the adaptive community as new bikes can cost $15,000, putting them out of reach for many riders.

It was an awesome day out on the trails for all of us, and for Larry Lehman, Truckee Trails’ lead trail engineer, it was equally as educational, “Between watching the riders and listening to Roy’s [Roy Tuscany, founder & CEO at High Fives] suggestions, I learned a tremendous amount about adaptive mountain biking.” Larry added, “There are simple things like eliminating pinch points on the trail that makes all the difference for adaptive riders.” (One narrow section on a trail that prevents a 50″ wide adaptive bike to pass is enough to make the entire trail a no-go.)

The crew of riders rounded out the afternoon at Sawtooth and then prepped for the next day’s challenge – the Northstar Downhill riding park.

From Larry Lehman again, “The High Fives group carried such positive attitudes. The whole experience opened my mind to other ideas in trail building that make it inclusive to all types of riders.”

Special thanks to the team at High Fives, the riders, and support crew for making this day possible. At Truckee Trails we are building trails that are accessible for all levels of riders and types of trail use including mountain biking, trail running, hiking, and gravel riding.