Paralyzed Athletes Adapt Well for PPP

Danielle Watson was not always in a wheelchair.

Last year, a rock climbing accident left the 29-year-old paralyzed. She moved from Colorado to Oregon to live with her father and quickly learned that what makes Bend great only made her feel worse.

"Everyone is so active and so athletic, and I was, but I'm not able to do everything that I could do before," Watson said Wednesday.

Oregon Adaptive Sports recently came into Watson's life, and after a weekend of skiing at Mt. Bachelor, she'll be sprinting in her wheelchair at the U.S. Bank Pole Pedal Paddle on Saturday.

Also on Watson's team "No Boundaries," made up completely of athletes in wheelchairs, is Carl Backstrom. He's their runner, but he'll be pounding the pavement with his hands this weekend.

"This is kind of my steering wheel, so at high speeds I don't tip a little bit," said Backstrom as he showed me how to ride his bike.

Backstrom has been in a wheelchair since he was a teenager, when he learned the hard way that alcohol and motorcycles don't mix. He's excited to show just how far he's come in the race this weekend.

"It's a little hairy with the switchbacks, but I'll make it by going over a few boulders," said Backstrom.

Mark Derr's love for motorcycles and going fast put him in a wheelchair in 2009. But his disability won't slow him down when he cycles down Century Drive.

"I've done that ride a few times, so if I can break 55 minutes, then I'll be doing good," said Derr.

"Good" in Derr's mind is over 60 miles per hour. I was more concerned about how to slow down when he let me take his bike for a spin.

"This is the brake?" I asked him. "Yeah, and this is the emergency brake," he told me.

Cycling with your hands is a lot harder than it looks. But the payoff for the Oregon Adaptive Sports athletes is big.

"Life is about just those little achievements, so if you can say, 'I just did this better today,' then you can feel good," said Watson.

And Watson added another little achievement Wednesday, learning how to do a one-handed wheelie on her wheelchair.

"Yeah! Her first one!" Backstrom said as he cheered on Watson.

Oregon Adaptive Sports also has another team in the the race weekend. Team Onward is six athletes, all with different disabilities, but with one goal -- winning one of the PPP's coveted mugs.

To learn more about Oregon Adaptive Sports visit their Website www.oregonadaptivesports.org.