Courage Center, a nationally-known rehabilitation and resource center for people with disabilities, held its second annual ‘Meet Me at Home Plate’ event on Sept. 17-18. The event featured a 75-mile ride from Camp Courage in Maple Lake to home plate at the Twins game in the Metrodome.
More than 50 handcycle and bicycle riders – half of whom have disabilities – made the trek, with participants traveling most of the distance on Sept. 17. Starting at Camp Courage, the group passed through the communities of Silver Creek, Monticello, Fletcher, Hamel, Medina and Wayzata before ending the day in Hopkins. On Sept. 18, the participants made their way through Minneapolis and ended at the Dome in time for the noon Minnesota Twins/Baltimore Orioles game.
The 2003 event was held to celebrate the organization’s 75th anniversary, which is why the distance is 75 miles. This year’s event is a fund-raiser for Courage Center’s Sports and Recreation Program.
“This ride was so successful and such an inspiration last year that we decided to do it again,” said Sharon Van Winkel, program director for Courage Center’s Sports and Recreation Program. “Our purpose is to show that people with disabilities can use sports and athletic skills to find the confidence to take on bigger challenges.”
Among those who participated in the event were youth ranging in age from 12 to 19 who are wheelchair athletes, along with adult wheelers who are track and road racers, including Paul Van Winkel, eight time winner of the wheelchair division at Grandma’s Marathon; Marcelo Ordaz-Cruz, 23, who raced in the wheelchair division at Twin Cities and Grandma’s this past year; and Julie Bishop, who has won the hand-crank division of area marathons.
Boxer Scott LeDeaux was one of the able-bodied participants riding his bike. Other participants included 13-year-old youth wheeler Ben Kenyon and his able-bodied father, Tim, who rode his bike; Cheryl Brose, a medical secretary at North Memorial Hospital who participates in the Courage wheelchair basketball program and is a world class weight lifter; and double amputee George Kiefner who coaches two wheelchair basketball teams.
The Courage Sports and Recreation Program works with children as young as 6 and adults into their 70s, teaching them how to have fun even though they are living with a disability. Activities include downhill skiing, competitive swimming, archery, day camp, martial arts, track and field, wheelchair softball, sled hockey, water skiing, sailing, kayaking, rock climbing and wheelchair basketball.
“All of our programs are designed to lend excitement and a sense of accomplishment and to give people a new enthusiasm to succeed,” said Van Winkel. “Our 75-mile ride is a great example of these efforts and a showcase for Courage Sports and Recreation.”