Alberta charity receives unique set of wheels

Edmonton -

A unique set of wheels has been donated to an Alberta charity to help individuals with disabilities conquer mountain trails.

It’s called a Bowhead Reach Adaptive Mountain Bike: a specially designed e-bike with up to 50 kilometres of range, three inches of dual front suspension, and pivots to decrease its turning radius.

All together it forms a machine built to make mountain sports accessible to those living with physical, cognitive or developmental challenges.

The bike, which costs around $27,000, was purchased by The Wolfe Automotive Group and donated to Rocky Mountain Adaptive (RMA) who provide mountain sport experiences to people with disabilities.

Alana MacLeod, RMA community outreach coordinator, told CTV News Edmonton that having a bike like this available removes many barriers for riders.

“It can go on essentially any mountain biking trail. If they have friends that mountain bike, they can go on that trail as well.”

She says “It is an expensive piece of equipment so having this bike at Rocky Mountain Adaptive enables so many more people to access it.”

This is the fourth adaptive bike in RMA’s fleet but the first donated by Wolfe Automotive Group.

“It’s the only one of its kind, to my understanding, in the entire world and completely pivots from side-to-side so it allows access to off-camber tracks for individuals who would never use the trails where we would use our bikes," said Ashley Wolfe with the Wolfe Automotive Group.

"It’s pretty sweet."

Wolfe and her business partners wanted to leave a legacy and plan to donate one or two more bikes in the future.

“Giving back to our communities is an imperative part of our community culture,” she said.

The Bowhead Reach bike is being showcased at all Wolfe Automotive Group’s dealerships before it begins tackling Rocky Mountain trails with eager riders from Rocky Mountain Adaptive.