Kelly Brush Century Ride Ready to Roll Sept. 8

KELLY BRUSH CENTURY RIDE READY TO ROLL SEPTEMBER 8 

RIDERS SUPPORT ADAPTIVE SPORTS, SPINAL CORD INJURY PREVENTION

BURLINGTON, Vt. (Aug. 22, 2012) — Vermont’s largest charity bike ride, the Kelly Brush Century Ride powered by VBT Bicycle and Walking Vacations, rolls on Sept. 8 in Middlebury Vt. The seventh annual ride benefits adaptive athletes and supports spinal cord injury prevention.

In addition to being the largest ride of its type in the state, the event is one of New England’s largest for adaptive athletes using handcycles. Bicyclists and handcyclists who participate raise funds to help adaptive athletes with spinal cord injuries experience the benefits of sports. The ride has funded grants for adaptive equipment for skiing, cycling, bowling, rowing and even scuba diving.

“Kelly Brush Century Ride participants have made it possible for the Kelly Brush Foundation to purchase over 40 pieces of adaptive athletic equipment for adaptive athletes with financial limitations,” said Kelly Brush Foundation President Charlie Brush.

“While each piece of equipment ranges from $3,500 to $6,000, the quality of life improvement for the athletes is immeasurable.”

Last year, over 700 riders and 24 handcyclists raised more than $275,000 for the Kelly Brush Foundation.

The ride also supports the foundation’s mission to improve ski racing safety. Funds raised by riders have helped the foundation purchase over 400 miles of safety netting for ski race courses across the country and have supported a national campaign to improve race course safety.

The scenic route through the Champlain Valley starts at Middlebury College and heads along the lake, winding through Charlotte and Shelburne before looping back.

Riders can chose to ride 25, 50 or 100 mile routes. New for this year is a 25-mile loop. Previous years’ 25-mile course was a point-to-point ride that required a shuttle back to the start.  Also new this year, riders earn Patagonia clothing by reaching fundraising milestones.

The ride features five fully stocked water/fuel stops including food from sponsors Hammer Nutrition and Brueggers Bagels. Riders also enjoy a post-ride BBQ and raffle.

The 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.

In addition to members of the Middlebury College Ski Team, the ride sees strong participation from area ski academies, including Green Mountain Valley School and Stratton Mountain School.

Online registration is open through midnight Wednesday, Sept. 5. Day of event registration is also available. To register online visit: www.kellybrushfoundation.org

The Kelly Brush Century Ride powered by VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations is made possible thanks to the generosity of participants and sponsors including: VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations, Shearer Audi, Sugarbush Resort, KeyBank, Saatchi & Saatchi, World Cup Supply and others.

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.