Connecting with your Local Cycling Community

Take a trip to your local bike shops.  Talk to the shop’s employees about your need for tandem captains.  Be confident, even if you have little cycling experience.  Many cyclists are willing to share cycling with a new rider.  Post our bicycling blind flyer on their shop bulletin board to advertise the need for tandem captains.  Contact us and we’ll email you the flyer.  Your personal information is not on the flyer.  Instead, the flyer directs potential captains to our website to sign up and create a cycling profile.  Then, they can read your profile and email you through the website.  While at the shop, ask for information about local cycling clubs.  Purchasing small items at the shop, like a water bottle or a pair of gloves, might help your efforts.

In addition, use an internet search engine to look for local cycling clubs.  Type in the name of your city, region, state, or county, and “bicycle clubs”.  On each club’s homepage, look for the link that says, “contact us”.  Then, send an email to the club, introducing yourself and expressing your interest in cycling and your need for tandem captains.  If you have a tandem bike, tell what kind  of bike (cruiser, performance, recumbent) you own.  If you have previous experience as a rider, state where you’ve ridden and how far you’d like to ride.  If you’ve never been on a bicycle, you need to let them know.  If you don’t mind that your captain has never ridden a tandem, say that, too.  Finally, ask if the club will distribute your request to its’ members via their e-group and printed newsletter. 

Here’s an example of an email:

Hi, my name is Ron and I am a blind cyclist.  I just moved to the area for my new job and am excited about riding in my new city.  I have been riding for years and own a performance, road tandem.  I just need people to share the ride with me.  Tandem experience is not necessary.  New captains can learn about riding a bike with a blind person by reading the Tandem Tutorial and Etiquette links at this website, http://bicyclingblind.org.  Also, by creating a cycling profile on this site, potential captains can read about me and contact me.   Would you please forward this email to your club’s members and include this in your next newsletter?  Thanks for your help.  I greatly appreciate it.  I look forward to meeting many of you out on the road.

We hope these tips will help get you out on the bicycle more often.  Please contact us if we can help in any other way.