Special Olympics on wheels
Katie Peterson bicycles on the lawn near the Escanaba marina on Wednesday. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Athletes and volunteers associated with Special Olympics Michigan Area 1 practice riding bicycles in Ludington Park in Escanaba. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Katie Peterson bicycles on the lawn near the Escanaba marina on Wednesday. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Athletes and volunteers associated with Special Olympics Michigan Area 1 practice riding bicycles in Ludington Park in Escanaba. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
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ESCANABA — It’s been a few years since the local Special Olympics organization has included bicycling in its programming, but it may come back.
On Wednesday afternoons, a group has begun to gather for casual cycling in Ludington Park in downtown Escanaba, with many of the athletes on yellow bicycles rented from the Harbormaster.
For now, the activity is just for fun and to gauge the interest in bicycling, said Area 1 Director Becky Carey for Special Olympics Michigan. The area, one of 39 in the state, serves Delta, Menominee, and Schoolcraft counties.
The mission of Special Olympics, founded in 1968, is “to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.”
Perhaps best-known of the sports Michigan Special Olympics Area 1 participates in is the basketball tournament, which takes place in the gym at the Escanaba High School. Softball, golf and bocce are also popular with the athletes.
Bicycling takes multiple forms in Special Olympics. If the activity kicks off successfully in Michigan’s Area 1, athletes may begin competing in races and time trials of various distances, either on bicycles, three-wheeled bikes or unified (paired).
Though this week’s meetup for bicycling at the marina in Escanaba was a first, the intent is for it to become a regular occurrence. Interested persons can find the group on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. near the Harbormaster’s building.
Anyone in the tri-county area interested in joining or volunteering for Special Olympics is encouraged to call 906-630-3338, email area01@somi.org or check out the Facebook page of Special Olympics Michigan Area 1. For other regions in the state and to find out more about the organization, information is available at somi.org.