Riding riding without limits, redefine redefinition of adventures in Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska (Ktuu) – whether he is on ice shoes or slides down a snow -covered path, Bryce Gitzen always moves. Adventure, determined and full of heart, does not make him slower, and that includes the quick life of life on two wheels.

On a bright day in Alaska, directly on a busy highway, Gitzen is set up on his first tandem bike tour of the year.

“Yes, the first trip of the year for me,” he said.

Cycling is more than sport for gits, it is a feeling of freedom. It is a connection to the world that goes far beyond what he can see.

“When I am that I was born blind and have a progressive eye disease,” said Gitzen, “so my gaze disappears all the time.”

But even with a fading vision, he did not give up the joy he found on a bike as a child.

“I was probably 8 or 9 years old and caught with the family and I went straight to a stop sign,” he laughed. “I fell over. I got up and said, 'Who brought it there?'”

It is this sense of humor and this feeling of the possibility that moves it forward. He does not focus on what he has lost. He focuses on what he can do.

“Tandem Byking is something, I just love it,” he said. “My goal this year is to drive 2,000 miles. So far I am about 250 inches, so I am so well through it, and this bike will make it even easier.”

This bike, a brand new tandem, was a gift from Challenge Alaska, a non -profit organization that received a grant of $ 50,000 to buy adaptive sports equipment from the Hartford. It is part of a larger mission: to make relaxation accessible to every Alaska, regardless of your ability.

“Everyone has to create again. Everyone has to be physically fit,” said Nate Boltz, Managing Director of Challenge Alaska. “A significant increase in the price in connection with the game costs is a significant increase in alaskans. Adaptable devices can cost up to 15 times more expensive than the standard counterpart.”

And these costs can be a barrier, not only for physical activity, but also for spontaneous joy.

“If you have this access to reproduce your own schedule, it is definitely something that people take for granted,” said Jeff Dick, leisure therapist from Challenge Alaska. “If he has such a device as this, it opens the door to only be spontaneous, and the relaxation should be spontaneous. It should be fun if there is an opportunity to just grab and go.”

This spontaneity means everything for Gitzen because you don't have to see the street in your world to enjoy the journey.

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