People and organizations in Whatcom and Skagit counties boost adaptive sports and recreation, empowering people of all abilities to enjoy the summer outdoors and indoors
At around 575 miles into the Tour Divide on Monday, June 30, Dillen Maurer found himself face-to-face with a herd of alpacas. He tried to befriend the critters on the Llama Ranch while he rested up for his next leg of the ultradistance cycling ride, but they kept their distance.
The Llama Ranch — a happy sight for weary hikers and bikers exploring Montana’s peaks and valleys — was an important stopping point for Bellingham resident Maurer because it was the furthest any amputee has made it on the Tour Divide race route. Maurer, a retired professional cyclist, lost his left foot in a bike accident September 2022 in Taos, New Mexico.
“The Tour Divide is the holy grail of biking,” Maurer said. “After I lost my left foot, the Tour Divide was the thing I wanted to accomplish. Everyone in the adaptive athletic scene is all about breaking down barriers.”
Maurer relocated to Bellingham two and a half years ago because of his desire to return to an athletic lifestyle. He attributes his physical and mental health recovery to riding on Galbraith Mountain’s world-class mountain biking trails with bikers of all abilities.
Around 240 bikepackers — those who set out on a long-distance excursion backpacking and cycling — follow the Continental Divide as close as possible on the Tour Divide. The race crisscrosses the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from north to south, starting in Banff, Alberta, and finishing at the U.S./Mexico border in Antelope Wells, New Mexico.
Maurer built his own bike, which he named the Pink Pony, for the competition. The bike has a full frame pack, seat pack and handlebar bag to store the stuff he needed for the long, arduous journey: food, a tent, a sleeping pad and plenty of water, which is the heaviest item to carry on a bikepack.
On his third day on the Tour Divide, around the 400-mile mark, Maurer faced some physical struggles with his residual limb — the portion of his leg remaining after an amputation. Maurer pedaled with his heel on the pedal in Montana Wednesday, June 18, to relieve some of the pressure on the back of his knee.
He spent some time in the emergency room in Missoula later that evening, as doctors said he had an infection on his residual limb. They advised him to take antibiotics for seven days and not ride his bike again until the infection cleared because it could become life threatening.
Maurer went back home to Bellingham Friday, June 19, to rest and heal, with hopes of getting back in the saddle.
“I’m so excited I got the opportunity to line up with the best in the sport and tackle this challenge,” Maurer told Salish Current. “However, my disability definitely has taken a huge toll on my efforts. Had it not been for these infected sores, the rest of my body was feeling like it was still up for the rest of the race. As such, I plan on taking another go on the race course and rejoining where I left off.”
A week and a half after initially leaving the race, Maurer and the Pink Pony returned to Montana Saturday, June 28, to continue the journey as far as he can go.
“It might not look like everyone else’s Tour Divide, but that is part of what being an adaptive athlete is all about,” Maurer said.
He bowed out of the race south of Helena on Tuesday, July 1, the first day of Disability Pride Month, because of the continual pain in his residual limb.
“My lofty goal of being the first amputee to finish this grueling race will have to be reassessed,” Maurer wrote on his Instagram account Baphomet Bicycles. “It seems that my limb cannot handle the task of racing the Tour Divide unsupported. That’s where adaptation comes in.”
Living in motion
Maurer raced in the 2025 Tour Divide to showcase how important athletic prosthetics are for amputees. Earlier this year, Maurer traveled to the Washington State Capitol in Olympia to testify in support of House Bill 1669. Signed into law in May 2025, HB 1669 requires insurers to cover athletic devices, like prosthetic limbs and custom orthotic braces when doctors deem them “medically necessary.”
‘With this new legislation… instead of being forced
into a sedentary life of compromise, folks like myself
can live full, healthy lives.’
— Dillen Mauer
Maurer currently walks on a cycling-specific prosthetic rather than a typical walking device because his current insurance will only cover one prosthetic device every few years. His current K4 prosthetic — designed for athletes participating in competitive sports at an Olympic level — costs $27,000 and is tailored to his left leg.
“With this new legislation, I won’t have to make this horrible choice to stay active and healthy,” he said. “Instead of being forced into a sedentary life of compromise, folks like myself can live full, healthy lives.”
Nicole Ver Kuilen, a disability advocate based in Vancouver, Washington, spearheaded the legislation in her home state with the health care and disability rights campaign So Every BODY Can Move.
“I believe movement is medicine and physical activity is a right, not a privilege,” Ver Kuilen said. “Physical activity is foundational to everyone’s health and well-being.”
Biking on a slippery slope
The City of Bellingham wants to improve structures for underserved communities, especially when it comes to summer adaptive sports and activities, said April Katz, founder and executive director of the AIROW Project in Bellingham. During the long summer days, people of all abilities are eager to explore the city on its biking and hiking trails, and on the water.
Galbraith Mountain is the heart of Bellingham’s mountain biking scene, and the SST is the perfect adaptive mountain bike trail, Katz said.
On Galbraith, cyclists can call first responders if they are hurt or lost, and they will know exactly where to find the cyclists, Maurer said.
“This is a huge comfort for me now,” he said. “Galbraith is more accessible because there’s access for motor vehicles to get to most places on the mountain.”
But several of Bellingham’s bike paths, like the Railroad Trail, have gravel trails. This an impediment for those riding adaptive cycles, as its loose gravel surface makes it unstable and tricky to navigate.
Daman Wandke, founder and CEO of Wandke Accessibility, a disability advocacy and accessibility consultancy, on occasion would ride his bike from his home near downtown Bellingham to Boulevard Park. Wandke, who has cerebral palsy, retrofitted his tricycle with an e-bike throttle to cruise up and down Bellingham’s hilly terrain.
“Bellingham does pretty well with accessibility, but it’s often two steps forward, one step back here,” Wandke said.
The City of Bellingham installed rail crossing gates last November, which forced cyclists to take a detour on the South Bay Trail near Boulevard Park. Wandke said he couldn’t open the gates, and since then, he has curtailed bike riding around the city.
Removing barriers in sailing, kayaking
One organization in Fairhaven fully committed to community members with disabilities is the Community Boating Center, or CBC. To date, CBC has raised around $80,000 for accessible boating equipment like stable kayaks that won’t tip, Versa paddles to help stabilize a kayaker’s shoulders, stabilizing outriggers, and transfer lifts designed to help people with limited mobility move between different surfaces, said Bryan Rust, CBC’s executive director.
The Whatcom Community Foundation has given the CBC funding for adaptive equipment. An ADA lift is currently being installed at the Port of Bellingham, while two additional bathroom stalls will open to accommodate boaters with disabilities. The full activation of these resources will await the completion of the port’s small watercraft dock sometime this summer, Rust said.
“By that time we expect to fulfill our dream to have a fully accessible campus, dock, and fleet,” he said.
During the summer months, Wandke enjoys getting out on the water in Bellingham once or twice a week with the help of the CBC’s staff.
“The adaptive equipment makes the water available to everyone,” he said.
Wandke’s adaptive sailing experiences on a Hansa 303 sailboat made such an impression on him that he advocated purchasing one for Western Washington University’s Lakewood waterfront facility and the CBC.
The Hansa 303, designed to meet the needs of sailors with disabilities, features a joystick for steering and lines a sailor can adjust from a seated position, making it possible for individuals with limited mobility to sail independently, Wandke said.
“At the CBC, we believe it’s healthy to be on the water,” Rust said. “Boats are the perfect vehicle for building trust and confidence.”
Accessible yoga for teens
At the Max Higbee Center in Bellingham, summer is its busiest time as teens take part in adaptive sports and activities indoors and outdoors, said Alyssa Jones, program director. They take yoga and other fitness classes, as well as hiking local trails, riding adaptive bikes and kayaking.
Max Higbee Center staff undergoes accommodation training so that members can participate at different levels, said Sam Konieczka, recreation services director. For instance, one member may choose to stand during a full yoga practice, while another member may elect to do part of yoga practice from a chair.
“Our community as a whole benefits as well: more adaptive activities means more people are able to participate, connect with each other, and build stronger relationships that reduce the burden on care systems,” Konieczka said.
Swimming boosts mind, body, spirit
Skagit Valley Family YMCA in Mount Vernon offers private swim lessons and other aquatic activities to people from all athletic backgrounds, said Elissa Eskridge, youth program coordinator.
The YMCA in Mount Vernon also offers adaptive equipment to enhance accessibility and participation. Swimmers can use an aquatic lift chair for easier access to the pool, as well as flotation devices, including life jackets, belts, pool noodles, kickboards, and pull buoys in the water, Eskridge said. The facility features zero-depth entry access to the pool and a lazy river designed for rehabilitation.
“Skagit Valley Family YMCA creates positive community change through relationships by empowering the mind, body, and spirit of all,” Eskridge said. “Our programming reflects that belief through intentional design, staff training, and adaptive offerings. We believe every person deserves the opportunity to play, learn and thrive, regardless of ability.”
— By Catherine Skrzypinski
Adaptive sports and activities around Whatcom and Skagit counties this summer:
• Adaptive Splash Explore Bellingham Bay on an adaptive kayak Thursday evenings in July and August from 5:30-7:30 p.m., hosted by the Community Boating Center in partnership with Cascade Connections, Max Higbee Center and the AIROW Project. CBC will provide paddle partners and adaptive equipment to anyone wanting to get on the water.
• Community Champions Game (Tuesday, July 15: 6:30 p.m.), hosted by the Bellingham Bells. The baseball game showcases athletes from the Max Higbee Center competing alongside the West Coast League All-Stars.
• 3rd Annual Disability Pride Sidewalk Fest (Sunday, July 20: 1-4 p.m.). The celebration will take place along the sidewalk of the 1300 block of Commercial Street in downtown Bellingham with free hot dogs, adaptive bike demonstrations by the AIROW Project and music by Out of the Ashes.
• Salty Social (Thursday, July 17: 5-8 p.m.). Climate Happy Hour isn’t your average happy hour.
• Skagit Special Olympics offers various Olympic-style sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Skagit County. People can play golf until August, and then participate in bowling, pickleball and volleyball starting in September.
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Cheers to a cause: the Max Higbee Center,” April 24, 2025
• “Invictus Games: a celebration of inclusivity in sports,” Feb. 25, 2025
• “Disability Pride: embracing identity, breaking down barriers,” July 31,2024