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Eginaren Eginez: Aiming for Social Transformation for People with Functional Diversity in the Spanish Basque Country
CONTINUE READING: Eginaren Eginez: Aiming for Social Transformation for People with Functional Diversity in the Spanish Basque Country(*Note: My meeting with Eginaren Eginez was held in Spanish, and my Spanish comprehension is still relatively novice, so please excuse any unintended misunderstood elements from our conversation. Eginez also occasionally used the term “diversidad funcional” or “functional diversity” in describing disability as an innate part of the diverse spectrum of humanity. While I would…
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Castles, Caves, and Miraculous Stars: My Ride From Paris to the Mediterranean Sea
CONTINUE READING: Castles, Caves, and Miraculous Stars: My Ride From Paris to the Mediterranean SeaFollowing my incredible experience at the Paralympics, and my over month long stay in Paris, I began riding again to the end of Europe and towards Africa on Sunday, September 8th. I set off from Le Peloton Cafe in Paris, where I had graciously been allowed to store my bike during my time in Paris,…
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Happy New Year After Finishing My Ride Across Europe
CONTINUE READING: Happy New Year After Finishing My Ride Across EuropeHi everyone, apologies for my long breaks between posts on the blog. But, I wanted to officially share here that I finished my ride across Europe (from Finland to Portugal), and I’m now back at home in New Mexico, USA and celebrated the holidays with my family. After some of the toughest last days of…
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Big announcement: postponing my ride through Africa to next fall
CONTINUE READING: Big announcement: postponing my ride through Africa to next fallHi everyone, sorry for my silence on the blog lately. I’m nearing the end of my ride across Europe, and in my nearly 6-month journey from the northeastern reaches of the continent down to the southwest, I’ve had many incredible experiences, met so many fascinating, amazing people, and learned many valuable lessons. The journey hasn’t…
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Meet Etienne Membrives and Coordination Handicap Autonomie: Working to transform Independent Living from Words on Paper to Lived Reality for People with Disabilities across France
CONTINUE READING: Meet Etienne Membrives and Coordination Handicap Autonomie: Working to transform Independent Living from Words on Paper to Lived Reality for People with Disabilities across France“I would say the worst thing, at least in my point of view, is that people who live in institutions, they don’t decide anymore what they do… it may be a building with a big fence around it, and they can only go out if someone from the institution agrees to go out, they have…
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Finding the Antidote to Drudgery and Embracing Spontaneity and the Absurd – My Ride from Northern Germany to Paris
CONTINUE READING: Finding the Antidote to Drudgery and Embracing Spontaneity and the Absurd – My Ride from Northern Germany to ParisI passed from Denmark to northern Germany on the evening of July 14, after battling a fierce headwind and heavy spurts of rain. I was welcomed by my Warmshowers hosts Theresa and Simi at Theresa’s parents’ home in Niebüll. It’s exactly on such cycling days getting drenched from rain, and exhausted from constant hard pedaling against a wall…
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Freedom Drive 2024: Reclaiming Disability Rights and Independent Living for All!
CONTINUE READING: Freedom Drive 2024: Reclaiming Disability Rights and Independent Living for All!Over September 23–25, I traveled back to Brussels to participate and volunteer in the Freedom Drive 2024, the flagship, bi-annual event organized by the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL). Hundreds of disability activists gathered from across Europe to join forces, have discussions, learn from each other, empower one another, and amplify our shared calls…
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The Elusive Search for Balance Between the Core Motivations for my Trip, and Closing my Fundraising Campaign for Achilles International
CONTINUE READING: The Elusive Search for Balance Between the Core Motivations for my Trip, and Closing my Fundraising Campaign for Achilles InternationalThere are two key driving motivations for my journey: 1) My personal desire to explore, see more of the world, have a big adventure, and learn more about myself in the process; and 2) My hope to make a small but tangible positive impact with my trip by sharing meaningful stories, and supporting organizations fighting…
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The Paralympics: A Celebration of Disability, Diversity, and the Positive Power of Sport!
CONTINUE READING: The Paralympics: A Celebration of Disability, Diversity, and the Positive Power of Sport!Following the Olympics, I took the opportunity to also attend the Paralympics in Paris, in order to watch and celebrate the incredible paralympic athletes, and also better understand what the Paralympics as an event was all about. To be honest, although I had tuned into most previous Olympic games, I had not followed the Paralympics…
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Announcing my Fundraising Campaign for Achilles International: Breaking Barriers in Sport and Exercise for People with Disabilities
CONTINUE READING: Announcing my Fundraising Campaign for Achilles International: Breaking Barriers in Sport and Exercise for People with DisabilitiesIt’s a pleasure to announce my new fundraising campaign for Achilles International for this next section of my big ride. Achilles International is an organization dedicated to making sport and exercise more inclusive for people with all kinds of disabilities, breaking down barriers to athletic participation, and empowering people across the disability spectrum to celebrate…