News

Erik Weihenmayer: First Blind Finisher of the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race

Submitted by ctinberg on Sat, 08/21/2010 - 22:36

Blind Adventurer, Erik Weihenmayer, is best known as the first blind person to summit Mount Everest. On August 14, 2010, he became the first blind finisher of the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race. The monster 100-mile course traverses the beautiful, high altitude mountains and valleys of Leadville, Colorado. Cyclists pedal on jeep roads and singletrack that never dip below 9,000 feet and climb to a lung-searing 12,600 feet. Erik and his tandem pilot, John Lemon, broke the 12-hour cut-off time, earning their well-deserved Leadville 100 silver buckles. Read Erik’s race blog.

Erik Weihenmayer (right), blind cyclist, and John Lemon, tandem pilot

U.S. Paralympics Road Cycling National Championships

Submitted by ctinberg on Sun, 07/04/2010 - 15:22

Bend, Oregon, June 22, 2010 - U.S. Paralympics Road Cycling National Championships.

In the Men’s Tandem Road Race, Blind/Visually Impaired classification, Clark Rachfal (Annapolis, MD) and David Swanson (Tucson, AZ) won the gold medal with a time of 1:28:47.30. Kevin Meyers (Greenfield, WI) and Greg Miller (Knoxville, TN) won the silver medal with a time of 1:30:02:40. Winning the bronze medal were Steven Baskis (Glen Ellyn, IL) and Jamie Alvord (King of Prussia, PA) in 1:34:48:00.

Mens Tandem on Podium

In the Women’s Tandem classification, only one tandem team competed, that of Rachel Scdoris and Sarah Max (Bend, OR) with a finishing time of 1:36:36:10.

Cycling Nationals 2010 in Bend, Oregon: Race Party for Paralympic Athletes and their Family, Friends, and Fans

Submitted by ctinberg on Sat, 06/19/2010 - 14:16

The U.S. Blind Tandem Cycling Connection will be serving up a carbo-loading dinner on Wednesday, June 23, at 6:30 p.m., in Bend, Oregon. We'll collect $5/person to go towards food costs.

Please RSVP to Christine [at] bicyclingblind [dot] org. She'll email you the local Bend address and directions.

Registration Opens for Cycling for Sight's Coastal Adventure Tour

Submitted by ctinberg on Thu, 04/29/2010 - 14:43

Blind Stoker Club

The 6th annual Cycling for Sight adventure and benefit bike tour on July 30 - August 1, 2010 sponsored by Pfizer, is open for online registration at http://cyclingforsight.org

Route features a 3 day, 200 mile tour on the Southern California coast. The Tour benefits the San Diego Center for the Blind and the Blind Stokers Club.

Blind Youth loans her tandem to World Champion

Submitted by ctinberg on Sun, 03/07/2010 - 18:27

Paralympic Cycling Team with Erika Garcia

In January, Erika Garcia, of San Diego’s Blind Stokers’ Club, loaned her tandem to the USA Paralympic Cycling Team during their camp at the Olympic Training Center. Karissa Whitsell, current B+VI World Champion, and her pilot, Olympic medalist Mari Holden, trained on Erika’s tandem.

Erika lost her eyesight at age 5 due to retinoblastoma, a cancer which develops in the retina. She started tandem cycling in early 2007. Later that year, at the age of 14, Erika became the first blind youth to complete the annual Cycling for Sight 3-day tour from Santa Barbara to San Diego. She has completed three Cycling for Sight tours. In 2009, she rode the cycling leg in the Challenged Athletes Foundation San Diego Triathlon Challenge. Her participation in these events is an inspiration to youth with visual impairments.

Developmental Cycling Camp for Riders with Disabilities

Submitted by ctinberg on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 11:19

TANDEM PILOTS NEEDED at the U.S. Developmental Cycling Camp for Riders with Disabilities at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, May 16-23, 2010 in Colorado Springs. The camp is hosted by the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), in collaboration with U.S. Hand Cycling (USHC) and Disabled Sports USA (DS/USA).

Cyclists ages 16 and older with physical disabilities will learn bike handling skills, safe riding techniques and road racing strategies. Instruction in track riding will also be provided at the velodrome. Athletes eligible for participation include: blind and visually impaired cyclists; cyclists with lower mobility impairments who use hand cycles; cyclists with cerebral palsy or head injury who use both standard bikes and tricycles; and amputee cyclists who ride either single bikes or hand cycles. Contact Pam Fernandes, Cycling Camp Coordinator for more information. Her phone number is 781-449-9563 and email address is pamala [at] quik [dot] com

Richard Hunter on News10, Sacramento, CA

Submitted by ctinberg on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 23:03

Visually impaired marathoner and triathlete Richard Hunter was interviewed on the program Sacramento & Co.. He talked about his accomplishments and his work with the Society for the Blind. He also had good things to say about bicyclingblind.org and the C Different Foundation. The story writeup on the Sacramento & Co. site. Video of the piece is embedded below.