LAKE SAMMAMISH STATE PARK, Wash. -- An unseasonably wet and cold summer day couldn't dampen the spirits of these 24 cyclists, who are arguably the Seattle area's most dedicated.
Emerging from the cover of the Sunset Beach shelter at Lake Sammamish State Park, two dozen riders donned ponchos and mounted adaptive bikes for a celebratory pedal on a rainy August afternoon. The occasion? Celebrating Outdoors for All at its newest program center.
Daily through Sept. 30 (with limited operation in October) and starting back up next May, the popular state park and Outdoors for All will offer more opportunities to ride and paddle for people with disabilities in Greater Seattle.
As the adaptive recreation nonprofit's first Eastside branch, the site will put cycling, kayaking, paddleboarding and summer day camps in easier reach for a segment of the population whose only previous option was Seattle's Magnuson Park. Until now, Outdoors for All's Sand Point location was the organization's only permanent home base stocked with adaptive bikes and kayaks.
For the nearly 50-year-old nonprofit, widely considered a national leader in adaptive sports and recreation, Eastside expansion means lowering the barrier to entry by meeting participants closer to where they live. For people with disabilities, transportation is often the top obstacle to participating in an activity.
Since the Issaquah location's soft opening in June, Outdoors for All says it has already hosted more than 1,000 outdoors experiences.
"You can imagine the challenge with driving across the bridge two ways during the day to go on a half-hour bike ride," said Clark Halvorson, executive director of Outdoors for All.
With the new Lake Sammamish site open, the nonprofit is now eyeing a potential expansion to South King County or Pierce County.
"We're going to create more opportunity for folks to be able to get outside in their communities and have access to the outdoors, four seasons a year," said Halvorson.
Bucket list
Outdoors for All began in 1979 by offering adaptive skiing at Snoqualmie Pass. Over the decades, it grew into a multisport operation. Today, some 850 volunteers help about 6,000 annual participants.
Skiing was the entry point for North Seattle resident Shu-Fang Newman, 65. Two years ago, she made a pledge: "Before I retire and go to a nursing home, I wanted to do something crazy," she said.
For Newman, a wheelchair user with limited mobility from the waist down due to polio, adaptive skiing was a novel sensation. "It's the kind of freedom I normally don't have," she said. "I cannot walk properly, I don't know the feeling of running."
Her bucket list dare engendered a lifestyle change. Newman loved skiing so much that she resolved to begin training her muscles, which led her to adaptive cycling in the warmer months. Now she rides an average of 40 miles per week.
Newman recently took an Outdoors for All paddleboarding class and was surprised to realize she was so strong that she did not need a back support.
"Even normal people cannot do that," she said, showing more than a hint of pride.
Eastside ease of access
Newman already has easy access to Outdoors for All's flagship program center in Magnuson Park, which serves riders from a prime location along the Burke-Gilman Trail, putting hundreds of miles of multiuse trails at their disposal. But count Bellevue resident and Outdoors for All board member Chris Hays, 32, among those who are happy about the new Lake Sammamish location.
"I like to bike with my dog and usually we only go around our neighborhood," said Hays, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. "That gets boring after you do it 100-plus times."
Now when he arrives at Lake Sammamish State Park, instead of having to transport his heavy and bulky personal adaptive bike, Hays can choose from among Outdoors for All's 250 adaptive bikes. The organization claims it's the largest adaptive bike library on the West Coast.
Some bikes are tandems that allow a guide to steer for a person with a sensory disability. Others are arm-powered, built for someone who does not have functional use of their legs.
"We have such a large library because the challenges people face are so individual," Halvorson said.
Regardless of the configuration, adaptive bikes are neither cheap nor easy to find. They range in price from $9,000 to $20,000 and only a few manufacturers make such specialized gear -- you won't find a wide selection on the showroom floor at Gregg's Cycles. Outdoors for All stocked up its bike library over decades of fundraising and grant solicitation to buy these expensive rides.
During the summer season, the organization makes them available for free.
The Seattle Department of Transportation grants some $75,000 annually to Outdoors for All, paid for by fees collected from private companies operating shared bikes and scooters. This annual contribution underwrites in-season adaptive bike usage at Magnuson Park (and the organization charges a fee for offseason rentals).
At the Lake Sammamish site, Outdoors for All is making in-season bikes available for free with a $100,000 grant from the Dan Thompson memorial fund.
In addition to bikes, the new program center's staff also lend out adaptive watercraft, like tandem kayaks suitable for a guide and client, and paddleboards that can accommodate a wheelchair.
For wheelchair users looking to go off paved surfaces, there's also a shiny new toy available for free rental through the Outdoors for All program center. Washington State Parks acquired an all-terrain motorized chair known as an Action Trackchair in August to explore the trails in Lake Sammamish State Park. (A motorized chair with a similar all-terrain tread to explore nearby beaches is available for free rental in Westport through nonprofit David's Chair.)
Hardcore outdoorsy people like to tout their quivers -- the different mountain bikes or multiple pairs of skis, each suitable for specific conditions. With its new hub at Lake Sammamish, Outdoors for All now has an impressive quiver on display for use by some of the region's most passionate recreationists. And there's the potential to provide many more people a first taste of the freedom that comes from riding a bike or paddling a watercraft.