BENTONVILLE, Ark. — This weekend Bentonville was the site of the NWA Off-Road Adventure, the largest adaptive riding event in the country. With over 40 riders coming from across the U.S. and Canada to participate and several others from right here in northwest Arkansas, and thanks to the Ozark Adaptive Sports Association, none of them had to pay a dime.
“We put this event on completely for free. We bring the bikes in from Atlanta, and riders come from all over the U.S. We put this on for free in order to showcase all of the work that we've done” said Brian Carlson, the event coordinator.
Although Sunday's activities were canceled due to weather, all the bikers still came together on the final day to eat and reminisce before going their separate ways.
“It just shows the passion for sports for everybody, even with a disability, that they're willing to come out no matter what, have fun, have a good time. And enjoy themselves. I mean, there were people riding yesterday, while it was raining. We were riding on Friday while it was raining. We're riding today while it's raining.” Sean Kent, the founder and executive director of the Ozark Adaptive Sports Association, said about the loyalty of the wheelchair community
Riders across the country are now starting to recognize Bentonville as the premiere adaptive riding spot in the nation.
“Bentonville is a perfect example of kind of the vision of what that looks like once you have the support of the trail builders, trailblazers, you know, the local community here, the trails are epic. There's a ton of adaptive riders and it just became a hub to ride at some of the most epic places. It's the biggest sport in history. It's the biggest event in history. And I wanted to be a part of it.” said Phil Hashem, a rider who came all the way from Phoenix, Arizona to participate in the event.
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