Ben Knight, Director
Ben Knight grew up in rural North Carolina and left home at 17 after just barely passing his GED exam. Knight pointed his camera and a reasonably reliable Oldsmobile due west in 1996. He spent 28 years in Colorado, 19 of them in Telluride where an annual film festival called Mountainfilm inspired him to leave photojournalism for filmmaking. Now, at 46, Knight has won more than 70 film festival awards for shorts and features. He was nominated for National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year for his 2014 documentary DamNation. His 2019 film The Last Honey Hunter was qualified for a Short Documentary Oscar and his most recent film Learning to Drown premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC.
Berne Broudy, Producer and
Co-Director
Berne Broudy is a veteran outdoor and travel journalist turned director and producer who spends as much time outdoors as humanly possible, who won't accept the status quo, and who passionately pursues her interests.
Broudy was born in New York City, grew up in Connecticut, and attended Williams College. After biking cross-country with no cycling experience with a philosophy of religion major in hand, she tried a career in international development relations before pivoting to full-time guiding in South America, Europe, and the U.S. For the past 25 years, she has been a professional writer and photographer based in Vermont and frequently on the road in far-flung locations including Greenland, Mongolia, Ghana, Namibia, Norway, and Nepal.
The outdoors is where Broudy finds inspiration, happiness, and peace. So in 2017, she co-founded the grassroots mountain bike trail club that recently completed the first-known fully adaptive-bike-friendly trail network.
"We didn't know exactly what we were doing or how to do it, but we knew we had to try," says Broudy. "Then we witnessed trails breaking down ableism. We saw the community coalescing. And we knew we had to tell the story to inspire others."
Greg Durso,
Athlete and Associate Producer
Greg Durso grew up on Long Island playing soccer, skiing, boating, and wakeboarding. In 2009, he suffered a spinal cord injury bailing off a plastic sled at a ski area and landing on a stump, and became paralyzed from the chest down. He bought a beginner handcycle as soon as he got out of the hospital, and biked 20 miles with Kelly Brush, founder of the Kelly Brush Foundation. Today, Durso works as program director for the Kelly Brush Foundation and awards equipment grants to individuals with spinal cord injuries. "That ride was my first goal post injury," said Durso. "I accomplished it and never looked back. Having disability-friendly equipment and recreation infrastructure helped me thrive after my injury. It's my life's work to grow access to both.” Durso is an adaptive mountain bike instructor. He competed in the MTB U.S. Open in September 2024.
Allie Bianchi,
Athlete
Richmond, Vermont native Allie Bianchi has always been an avid outdoorswoman who loves spending time in the mountains. In August 2022, as she was entering her second year of teaching second-grade special education, Allie broke her neck at the C5 C6 level in a mountain biking accident. Since then she has been working hard to get back to the mountains she loves. In the last year, Allie has resumed skiing and biking. She recently purchased an adaptive mountain bike with a grant from The Kelly Brush Foundation. "Adaptive sports equipment and the Kelly Brush Foundation has made it possible for me to find new ways to do the things I've always loved with both old friends and new ones!" said Allie. "I feel so supported by the community to accomplish my goals."
The Trails
The Driving Range is more than just a trail network; it's a testament to the power of inclusivity and what a community can accomplish when it rallies around a common goal. The Driving Range is a trail network where adaptive and able-bodied riders can recreate together. It's a network that belongs to the riders who built it and ride it, both able-bodied and adaptive. It's a place where intermediate and advanced riders feel welcome and can find challenges. When a recreational space is inclusive, everyone feels at home. And for all riders that like spicy, heart-pounding trails, The Driving Range shows what's possible.