The New York City branch of Achilles International is encouraging Queens residents with disabilities to join them for their free weekly adaptive cycling program runs at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The runs held there start every Thursday at noon and Sunday at 9 a.m.
In addition to promoting healthy living through exercise, this program also allows for those who participate to interact and meet new people. According to Achilles International Director of NYC Metro Region Programming Francesco Magisano, this is a rare opportunity. Magisano, who is completely blind, grew up without any access to adaptive sports. This was also a common experience among his peers.
“To have this opportunity now, twice a week, is one-of-a-kind and really awesome for people,” Magisano said. “Our main workouts are walking, running and rolling. Based on someone’s disability, they might be ambulatory, so they’ll walk or run. They might not be ambulatory, in which case they’ll ride an adaptive bike of some kind. It’s a wide range of adaptive [bikes] that we have for all different disabilities. Any type of categorized disability is welcome in Achilles.”
The adaptive bikes available include hand crank bikes known as hand cycles, trikes for those who may have spinal cord disability issues but can still propel with legs and tandem bikes for those who may be blind.
Magisano estimates that roughly 60-70 people with disabilities consistently participate each week in this program. He noted that number often rises to a few hundred whenever they hold special events. Volunteers also have a large presence in the program. These trained volunteers are paired with each athlete taking part in the program, meaning there are at least as many volunteers as athletes taking part each week.
Achilles’ roots date back more than 40 years ago. Dick Traum, an above-the-knee amputee who completed the New York City Marathon in 1976, founded the Achilles Track Club on Jan. 8, 1983. Since then, the organization has expanded to locations in other states and even other countries.
“It’s honestly transformative,” Magisano said. “I was able to experience it personally as an athlete. It’s completely changed my life. Now I get to work with Achilles and bring that opportunity to other people. You see people’s lives change on a daily or weekly basis. People went from never running a mile in their life to now running 26.2 miles through the streets of New York City [in the New York City Marathon].”
The program is held each week through the entire year, regardless of weather. Magisano noted that even when there may be a foot of snow on the ground, most people still show up for the opportunity to at least hang out with each other.
While the amount of time each person in the program spends each week running or rolling varies, Magisano estimates that most spend about an hour each meeting. However, he notes that those who may be training for a marathon typically spend more time there. The staff is generally in each location for approximately three hours.
“The biggest way we recruit is word of mouth,” Magisano said. “After experiencing it myself, I told all of my friends about it and brought them all to Achilles. It’s seeing what you don’t think is possible: seeing others with the same disability do that, and understanding it is possible. It just takes some adaptations and support. That’s the transformative experience that so many of our athletes have. They think something is not possible then they see others doing it and they get inspired and do it themselves.”
The age range for those who take part is vast. Team Achilles Kids is the junior program for anybody under the age of 18. Some of those kids are as young as 5 years of age. There are also participants of the program in their 80s and 90s.
“All abilities are welcome,” Magisano said. “Even if people only walk [or roll] for 100 meters, they are welcome. Same with volunteers. There’s a place within Achilles for them.”
Those interested in learning more about adaptive cycling, running and wheelchair racing in Queens and across the city can visit achillesinternational.org/nyc. The organization has been able to provide more adaptive cycling programs across the city thanks to the support of Citi Bike, powered by Lyft.
