Cuyuna trail becomes a gateway to winter mountain biking for adaptive cyclists

In 2022 and on dirt, Alexandra Van Horn test-rode her mountain bike over, down and around a new trail at Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area to help its builders adapt it for users, like her, with disabilities.

At the time, she recalled thinking, "This would be great in winter."

Turns out, her instincts were spot-on.

Cuyuna Country, in the Crosby-Ironton, Minn., area and a magnet for mountain bikers, expanded its trail system last June into the Sagamore Unit in Riverton. In doing so, the recreation area added another rally center and 15 more miles of trail, including a 7.5-mile adapted trail that Van Horn helped direct with her real-time feedback about its camber, or edges, width, banked turns and other features.

In early February, Van Horn propelled her Lasher Sport all-terrain handcycle again through the contours of the Sagamore Trail, presenting perhaps a new vision for what adaptive athletes can do in winter. She and her riding partner, Phil Hashem, waited for optimal conditions for their three-wheeled rides. Cold temperatures firmed up the snow ahead of a day in the mid-20s and the trail was groomed. A frequent, friendly request of Van Horn's during her repeat visits to ride "Sag" — built with money from the state's Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, the 2017 bonding bill and other sources — had borne fruit.

"One of the things I wanted to do was hit the trail in the snow and have that experience," she said.

Even an Arizona guy could embrace winter. Cuyuna was on a busy itinerary for Hashem, a quadriplegic injury survivor who travels widely to advocate for adaptive athletes and trail access through his social media handle Quad on a Bike on Instagram and YouTube. He was enthusiastic about rolling on Sag with Van Horn and said the experience compared well with his adventures in Moab, Utah; Big Bear Lake, Calif.; and Telluride, Colo. For one, the trail's grooming and width were perfect, he said, key to turns and speed control for bikes that are about 33 inches wide wheel to wheel and, despite aggressive tread, have narrower tires in the back than many fatbikes. The frozen snow had set up, too, bumper-like in some areas.

"Adaptive mountain biking is not just a hobby," said Hashem. "It is a gateway into a different lifestyle. It is a passion and this joy of access to a whole other world."

Hashem said there is a lesson, too, of inclusivity in Sag's "universal design." It has become a gateway for able-bodied riders, too, with its friendly width and contours. He said existing trails in Minnesota could be modified to accommodate any user, able or disabled. Plus, the all-terrain bikes for disabled cyclists are capable of navigating everything except for, say, the narrowest singletrack.

"A lot might not have been built with adaptive in mind but they are suitable for it," he said.

Riders on Sagamore have yet to be counted but nearly 344,000 people visited the recreation area in 2022, with more than 99,000 riding the trails, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

"Cuyuna's Sagamore expansion positions this state recreation area as a dynamic hub for human-powered outdoor recreation, " said Aaron Hautala, a member of the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew. "Our adaptive trails and their wide groomed width provide equity for adaptive winter cyclists and a friendly footprint for first-time fatbike cyclists."

Van Horn, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident, got her start riding in 2016 through Three Rivers Parks District's adaptive cycling program. With the advent of bikes like her Las Vegas-made Lasher, with full suspension, disc brakes and built for comfort and control, and places like Sag, she envisions more adaptive riders following suit in the coming years in Minnesota.

The two mountain bikers were finding some of their adrenaline rush this week at the Oz Castle trails in Bentonville, Ark., and will work their way toward Arizona in the weeks to come. But the memory of their time on snow at Sag still held urgency — and visions of what could be in Minnesota.

"We want more trails to ride," Van Horn said.