Angie Washo, 40, will be not only the first woman motorcyclist to compete in the AlCan 5000 Rally--she also is the first amputee. The challenging 3,500-mile, nine-day on/off road competition departs from Kirkland, Washington, August 18. The rally will take riders through British Columbia and the Yukon territories of Canada and on to Alaska. Much of the course is unpaved, and even the paved sections are not often in great condition. The riders will face cold, bears, rugged terrain, and very long days as they average about 500 miles of riding per day. A long time motorcycle enthusiast, Angie, who lives in Howey in the Hills, Florida, lost her left leg in October 2002 after being struck on her motorcycle by a hit-and-run drunk driver. Though it was necessary for Angie to use a wheelchair during an eight-month recovery period, her perseverance, determination, and love of the outdoors soon had her back to full speed ahead in an active lifestyle. She rides a Suzuki DRZ400S. Besides being a professional SCUBA diving instructor, Angie snowboards, wakeboards, in-line skates, spear fishes, and rides off-road and cross-country motorcycles. A Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructor, she operates Florida Motorcycle Training of Lake County Inc., Eustis, teaching beginning and advanced riding courses. In order to keep up the pace she's become accustomed to, Angie wears a custom-fit, state-of-the-art carbon fiber prosthetic foot made by Otto Bock HealthCare, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
