BORP concludes yet another successful SportsFest with many first-time participants
The annual SportsFest put on by Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program (BORP) drew a solid crowd of enthusiasts, many of whom were first-timers new to kayaking, cycling and wall climbing, including a hate-to-admit-it NorCal SCI co-founder, Franklin Elieh, who went on a kayak and hand cycle for the first time in 30 years post-SCI, but he drew the line in the sand when it came time to climbing the wall that Mark Wellman and his crew had brought over. “OK, I felt like an idiot for not trying those activities before,” said Franklin, a C6 Complete quad, “but I am so stoked I finally checked them off my bucket list.”
Franklin & Joy ready to hit the water in their kayak
Getting to the facility was a piece of cake, near I-80 and University Ave. in Berkeley where BORP has its massive adaptive cycling center, featuring dozens of cycles. And right there is a marina where they had set up shop to accommodate the kayaking enthusiasts. Over to the side, the climbing wall was set up towering over the cycling garage.
Rock climber making his way up
It was a festive atmosphere and the overcast gave way to a beautiful sunshine by noon and just-enough warm temperatures, yet a good breeze was also going on. I saw a lot of friends and familiar faces and everyone had a big smile on their face. You could tell it was going to be a great day. Power and manual wheelchair users were getting into the kayaks and hand cycles with a strong army of volunteers checking up on everyone.
Over at the boat launch pad was a very familiar face, BORP’s now-retired Greg Milano who was in charge of making sure every kayaker was safely and comfortably secured in their kayak before they’re launched. An electric lift got those with mobility challenges lifted up comfortably while other volunteers helped get each person into the kayak. “I was fortunate enough to be paired with Joy, a paraplegic and expert kayaker who lives in a houseboat in Sausalito,” said Franklin. “I was paddling and she was essentially using her paddles to act as the rudder, directing the kayak. I’d like to think we worked well together and am happy to report that I didn’t even get a drop of water on me.’
After 30 minutes of kayaking around the marina, I went to the wall/rock climbing area. I took a look at a couple of wheelchair users who climbed up. While my friends were egging me on to climb, I decided nah, I’ll pass on this. So for now, it remains on my bucket list.
I finally made it to the cycling area and was matched with a Force-2 Invacare handcycle. Leo, who’s now taken over Greg’s position at the cycling center, was great to provide the necessary support to get me into the cycle and secure me tightly to prevent fallouts. Lisa and Jason were two volunteers who helped out with everything until I was in, put my goofy-looking helmet on and took off. “Seriously, if you haven’t tried handcycling, you need to,” proclaimed Franklin. There was a 2-mile bike trail that I thought about going on my own but I thought twice about pushing my luck and chose to stay nearby and just work on getting comfortable with the operation of the cycle.
Finally, it was time to leave, especially once the temps began to cool down, leaving me with a regret of not having tried these activities years before. There was always a reason, sometimes more lame than other times, but I finally did it. Now, about that rock climbing … BRING IT ON!