Photo: WSHS Special Ed student Anslee Fraser with GA supportive racers Rondeau and Teague
By Valerie Sliker, courtesy Wagener Monthly
Former WSHS Special Education teacher Valerie Steen, now teaching at White Knoll, returned to Wagener to support her beloved Making Others Believe (MOB) Club as they provided a rest stop for the 31st Annual Aiken to Ride Fundraiser for the Special Olympics that was held on September 11, 2016.
Steen remains actively involved with the South Carolina Special Olympics Area 15 which covers Aiken, Edgefield and Saluda counties and was excited to be back with the MOB crew to distribute snacks and drinks for the 200 bicycle riders who come from all over the United States to ride through beautiful Aiken County in support of the Special Olympics held at Midland Valley High School each spring.
Aiken to Ride offers four different routes, all of which begin and end at Odell Weeks Recreational Center, and is a qualifying event for other races. The Century route is 102 miles with a 1625’ climb. The Metric route is 67.5 miles with a 1967’ climb. The 37-mile loop has only a 686’ climb and the 27-mile route consists of a 460’ climb. One rider was surprised to find himself at the Wagener stop. He had missed the turn-off for the 37-mile loop and was now doing the 67-mile route. The routes weave among horse farms and rural communities including New Holland, Wagener, Williston and Windsor.
Anslee Fraser, a special education student at WSHS, joins the MOB club at the Wagener stop each year to cheer on the riders. She was excited this year to see one of last year’s riders, Stace Rondeau recognize her as he coasted in and gave her a big hug.
“This is my birthday ride,” Rondeau told me as we refilled his water bottle. “It was tough last year; we had just done one hundred miles the day before. We pulled up and this girl (Anslee) said ‘Oh what a handsome man.’ I ignored it. She said it again and I told Steven (Teague, a friend and co-rider) I’ve got to do something, so I gave her a big hug and we got some pictures.” Teague and Rondeau, from the Toccoa, Georgia area, were only doing the 67-mile route this year and were happy to see Anslee again.
The North Augusta Belvedere Radio Club (K4NAB Amateur Radio) provided communication equipment and volunteers for the race as one of their many public service events for the Aiken County area. K4NAB provided communications with volunteers controlling the network at Odell Weeks and another at each rest stop along the route. They also provided the SAG service which gets a broken bicycle or an injured rider back to safety. Charlie Miller was at the Wagener stop.
You can visit with the radio club at the upcoming Science Education Enrichment Day (SEED) at USCA on October 1, 2016 where they will teach kids to use the radio stations and type their name in Morse code. Google it and take your kids, it’s open to the public. According to Miller, approximately 4,000 attended SEED in 2015.
Aiken to Ride is one of the biggest fundraisers for the South Carolina Special Olympics Area 15. Everything at the Special Olympics is free to the athletes, each athlete is fed pizza, snow cones, popcorn, etc. and vendor areas are available for parents, friends and buddies to purchase their meals for the day.
To participate in the Special Olympics, your child has to have a qualified disability. In Aiken County, it is a requirement that each child enrolled in special education participate in the Special Olympics, as well as their teachers and their student buddies. The USCA School of Nursing usually provides free physicals for the athletes. The district provides transportation for the teachers and students. Home schoolers can participate as well. The Burton Center, the Tri-Development Center of Aiken County and other organizations bring their adults with special needs to compete in the Special Olympics, too. The event is open for ages Pre-K through adult.
The next fundraiser for the SC Special Olympics Area 15 will be the Pancake Breakfast at Fatz Cafe in Aiken on October 22. Find them on Facebook for more information.
View all of our photos from Aiken To Ride 2016.