Health Watch: Riding without limits, redefining adventures in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Whether he’s on ice skates or gliding down a snowy trail, Bryce Gitzen is always moving. Adventurous, determined, and full of heart, Gitzen doesn’t let much slow him down, and that includes the fast pace of life on two wheels.

On a bright Alaska day, just off a busy highway, Gitzen gears up for his first tandem bike ride of the year.

“Yeah, first ride of the year for me,” he said.

For Gitzen, cycling is more than exercise, it’s a feeling of freedom. It’s a connection to the world that goes far beyond what he can see.

“Seeing this, that I was born blind, and I have a progressive eye condition,” Gitzen shared, “so my sight is continually dwindling.”

But even with fading vision, he hasn’t given up the joy he first found as a kid on a bike.

“I was probably 8 or 9, and I was biking with the family, and I biked directly into a stop sign,” he laughed. “I fell over. I got up and said, ‘Who put that there?’”

It’s that sense of humor and that sense of possibility that keeps him moving forward. He doesn’t focus on what he’s lost. He focuses on what he can do.

“Tandem biking is something, I just love it,” he said. “My goal this year is to bike 2,000 miles. So far, I’m about 250 in, so making my way through that nicely, and this bike will just facilitate that even more.”

That bike, a brand new tandem, was a gift from Challenge Alaska, a nonprofit that received a $50,000 grant from The Hartford to purchase adaptive sports equipment. It’s part of a bigger mission: to make recreation accessible for every Alaskan, no matter their ability.

“Everybody needs to recreate. Everybody needs to be physically fit,” said Nate Boltz, Executive Director of Challenge Alaska. “For Alaskans with disabilities, there’s a significant increase in price associated with the cost of play. Adaptive equipment can cost up to 15 times more expensive than its standard counterpart.”

And that cost can be a barrier, not just to physical activity, but to spontaneous joy.

“Being able to have that access, to recreate on your own timetable, it is definitely something people take for granted,” said Jeff Dick, Recreational Therapist with Challenge Alaska. “When he has a piece of equipment like this, it opens the door to just be spontaneous and recreation should be spontaneous. It should be fun when the opportunity arises, we should be able to just grab it and go.”

For Gitzen, that spontaneity means everything because in his world, you don’t have to see the road to enjoy the ride.

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