In this episode we meet the Blind Stokers Club and its founder Dave White. It’s the largest and most active tandem club for blind riders in the country. They pair sighted “captains” on the front seat with blind and visually impaired “stokers”. Their travels span Taiwan to Tahoe, Big Bear to Catalina Island, and most recently Death Valley, where they were joined by Erik Weihenmayer.
This episode is about biking blind. No, this is not a metaphor. Even Helen Keller, the famous disability rights activist, who happened to be deaf and blind, enjoyed a spin on her bike as a teenager in the late 1800’s.
“Next to a leisurely walk I enjoy a spin on my tandem bicycle. It is splendid to feel the wind blowing in my face and the springy motion of my iron steed. The rapid rush through the air gives me a delicious sense of strength and buoyancy, and the exercise makes my pulse dance and my heart sing.” Her words.
She was, in modern terms, a stoker. The person who sits behind the captain on a tandem bike.
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