WINDHAM, N.Y. – The Adaptive Sports Foundation’s Warriors in Motion® program will host its second mountain biking event of the summer next week from August 2-4.

The Warriors in Motion (WIM) program provides participating injured United States servicemen and women with a basic knowledge and practice of wellness and the importance of lifelong healthy living. All Warriors in Motion programs are goal oriented and empower the warrior to take charge of their own fitness and wellness.

Army veteran Jeff Roberson has hopped on a bike with the ASF a couple of times already this year in both the previous Warriors in Motion road cycling events, but this will be his first time participating in the WIM mountain biking program. “I think mountain biking will be a little more exciting, with a little more risk,” Roberson explained. “I’d like to take some chances that I normally wouldn’t usually take. If I see someone else complete a challenge and if it looks anywhere near what I can do, I’d like to try it.”

Eight veterans and six volunteers are scheduled to meet at the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning for bike-fitting, lunch and a chance to catch up with each other. Once everyone is situated, the Warriors in Motion team will head over to Elm Ridge in East Windham just off Route 23. Elm Ridge has several trails, and on Tuesday the group will get familiar with their bikes on the Warm-Up Loop. Dinner will be served at the ASF lodge after the ride is over and after the veterans check into their hotel.

The next day the ASF shuttle bus will pick up the warriors at 9 a.m., then head to nearby Round Top. The participants will bike the MTB trails over there all day with a lunch break in the middle. The group will be riding until 3 p.m. before everyone heads back to Windham to decompress and have another dinner at ASF.

Thursday’s final ride of the week will be back at Elm Ridge, this time on the Fun Loop. This trail has more challenging terrain than the Warm-Up Loop the group will ride on Tuesday. The Warriors in Motion will arrive a little after 9 a.m. and will bike along those paths until 12 p.m. Everyone will then return to the Adaptive Sports Center for lunch before it’s time to pack up and head back home.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the guys that I know through the ASF and the Veteran’s Affairs system,” Roberson said about this upcoming week. “I have a mountain bike, but I have some problems getting on it by myself. It’s a lot easier to do it with a group, being around the guys really helps me do that.”

Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, the ASF will be able to provide bicycle rentals (to those who need them), helmets, water bottles, all meals, hotel rooms, snacks, water, sports drinks, sunscreen, bug spray, ponchos (if necessary) and maps, both digital and paper copies. If you’d like to donate to the Adaptive Sports Foundation’s Warriors in Motion program, or any of the other programs the ASF has to offer, click here.