![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2011/09/KBF_ride_start_2011.jpg" "Handcyclists line up for the start of the Kelly Brush Century Ride in Middlebury on Saturday. The sixth annual ride through the Champlain Valley drew 721 riders including 24 adaptive athletes using handcycles.The event supports the Kelly Brush Foundation raising money for spinal cord injury prevention and adaptive sports equipment grants and is one of the best attended events in the Northeast for adaptive athletes using handcycles. Kelly Brush is at right. (Photo by Rajan Chawla Photography)")
The Kelly Brush Century Ride raised a record amount and drew the largest turnout in the six year history of the annual event held in Middlebury, Vt.
The 100-mile ride held on Sept. 10, raised over $275,000 for spinal cord injury prevention, adaptive sports and ski racing safety. A total of 721 riders participated in the scenic ride through the Champlain Valley.
“With blue skies and comfortable temperatures, we could not have ordered a better day for the Kelly Brush Ride,” said Charlie Brush, president of the Kelly Brush Foundation. “I’d like to send out a huge thank you to all who rode and raised money. Thanks to the efforts of our many supporters, the foundation will be able to do more than ever to help people face the challenges of paralysis through the love of sport and improve ski racing safety.”
The largest fundraising ride in the state, the Kelly Brush Century Ride is also one of the best attended rides in the Northeast for handcyclists. This year 24 participants rode the course on handcycles.
The 100-mile ride raises money to support the Kelly Brush Foundation’s multi-faceted mission including: improving ski racing safety, enhancing the quality of life for those with SCI through adaptive sports equipment grants, advancing scientific research on SCI and supporting the U.S. Adaptive Ski Team.
For every $5,000 raised, the foundation donates adaptive sports equipment in the name of the team or individual who raised the money. In addition, funds raised support ski racing safety grants awarded to clubs and racing organizations across the country for safety equipment such as netting to line race courses and protective gear for racers.
The Kelly Brush Century Ride was started by the Middlebury College Ski Team as a way to raise money to buy an adaptive mono-ski for team member Kelly Brush, who was paralyzed as the result of a ski racing crash. Brush and her family later founded a non-profit, and the ride was opened to the public.
The Kelly Brush Century Ride is made possible thanks to the generosity of participants and sponsors including: VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations, Shearer Audi, Sugarbush Resort, Earthlogic and many others.
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2011/09/KBF_RIDE_2.jpg" "Cyclists roll along the course at the sixth annual Kelly Brush Century Ride on Saturday. The sixth annual ride through the Champlain Valley, which started and ended in Middlebury, drew 721 riders including 24 adaptive athletes using handcycles. The event supports the Kelly Brush Foundation raising money for spinal cord injury prevention and adaptive sports equipment grants. (Photo by Rajan Chawla Photography.)")
About the foundation: The Kelly Brush Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving ski racing safety, enhancing the quality of life for those with spinal cord injury(SCI) through providing adaptive sports equipment, advancing scientific research on SCI and supporting the U.S. Adaptive Ski Team. Kelly Brush, together with her family, started the foundation in 2006 after she sustained a severe spinal cord injury while racing in NCAA Div. 1 competition as a member of the Middlebury College Ski Team in Vermont. The Kelly Brush Foundation affirms Kelly’s ongoing commitment to live life on her own terms and better the lives of others living with SCI. www.kellybrushfoundation.org
