When people unfamiliar with the active population of the disability community use outdated expressions such as “confined to a wheelchair,” they surely haven’t met the husband and wife team of Rocio and Daniel Palacios. Both participants in SummerFest 2003, the pair of elite athletes pilot their wheelchairs like launch pads, competing in a variety of athletic pursuits and enjoying vigorous recreation as well.

Daniel was drawn to June’s SummerFest largely due to his plans to compete in the “Rudy Braveheart Triathlon,” scheduled for July in Loma Linda, Calif. The triathlon is named for Rudy Garcia-Tolson, a teen bilateral amputee who holds several national track records. Armed with the cycle he rode nearly ten years ago when he used to race regularly, Daniel took advantage of SummerFest to receive hands-on coaching from the U.S. Paralympic team’s Craig Hampel, a nationally-recognized expert on wheelchair racing. Then, working with SummerFest instructors Rick Liepold of St. Charles, Ill.-based Creative Mobility and Joel Berman and Ian Lawless of Denver-based Adaptive Adventures and their dozens of adaptive cycles, Daniel was able to demo their state-of-the-art equipment, riding along miles of the Long Beach coastline.

An active water-skier and kayaker, Rocio came to SummerFest to try new recreational activities, such as rock climbing, which was under the direction of paraplegic climber Mark Wellman. Ascending the climbing wall by performing hand pull-ups, Rocio displayed her upper-body strength and determination in making it to the top.

Though SummerFest 2003 is a wrap, Daniel and Rocio continue competing in Riverside, Calif., with their Shooting Stars and Rolling Bears wheelchair basketball teammates. The twosome is also looking forward to another major event — their fifth wedding anniversary.