From: Dave White <dwhite7@...>

Date: February 2, 2009 8:31:27 PM PST

Subject: Blind Stokers Club - ready to roll for second year

This is a good story and would make nice copy for local media.  32 San Diegans have gotten together to form and grow a bicycle club for sight-impaired and blind neighbors - so all can enjoy the simple pleasures of riding a bike and taking an adventure bike tour.  If you look, you will see there's a lot more going on in the Blind Stokers Club (BSC).  Stokers (rear position on a tandem bike) from age 13 to 77 and various backgrounds and ambitions.  Sighted volunteer captains with rich cycling backgrounds and, above all, a desire to make a friend and share a bike ride.  The 6 months of BSC training rides lead up to the big goal - 3 days of california coastal touring - 220 miles from santa barbara to san diego on the Cycling for Sight bicycle tour - to benefit the Braille Institute Youth Program.  CFS is bringing its benefit constituents "along for the ride".  Its a story of teaming for vision, and for a good-time endurance adventure.

Last year, 11 BSC tandem teams trained for and completed the CFS tour.  One team went on to complete the 600 mile Qualcomm  Million Dollar Challenge tour (San Francisco to San Diego) with the Challenged Athletes Foundation.  Their success has encouraged more to join the club.

More can be found at 

http://cyclingforsight.org  check the "Tandem Teams" page

http://pedaltothepark.com

and in the information file enclosed below.

Dave White

Founder and Coordinator, Blind Stokers Club

dwhite7@...

619-881-5765

Begin forwarded message:

Subject: Blind Stokers Club Notice 09-03 - ready to roll

16 tandem teams are ready to roll for the Blind Stokers Club (BSC) 2009 season!  Since the last notice a few days ago, 4 captains have joined to partner with the newest stokers in the club. All together, 7 new stokers and 7 new captains have joined the club for 2009.  Special thanks to new captain Tom Cody, who recruited 3 more fellow captains with tandems from the Crown City (Coronado) Cyclists.  CCC joins Major Taylor CCSD and the SD Tandem Club as bike club partners of the BSC.  

An updated file with roster and partner teams is enclosed (no changes to the 2009 schedule page).

All 32 members and all available support personnel, families and friends are invited for the BSC-09 roll-out meeting and familiarization ride at Lake Miramar starting at 8:30 sunday Feb 8th.  Driving directions are on the schedule.

Stokers - wear layers and athletic or walking shoes. Bring a helmet if you have one; otherwise one will be provided.

Captains - install flat stoker pedals, and bring tools to adjust your stoker compartment.

PLEASE NOTE - In all cases of schedule conflict for any club calendar activity, contact your tandem partner first - and as early as possible.  For this, and all BSC rides for the year, contact support resources when needed for transportation (people or tandems) or for fill-in substitute captains.  Lists of these resources are in the enclosed MSExcel file ("Support" sheet).  Plan ahead for such requests and consider regional locations.  You may send me a courtesy email after changing plans, but you will be responsible (as a team) for your own logistics and participation, or make-up training rides.  Thanks in advance to all the supporting forces holding up the BSC, including several tandems on loan from friends of the club.

Equipment need: If anyone has access to a hitch-mount bike rack, please contact captain Julio Borja.

Looking forward to a 2nd year of growth and more accomplishment milestones for the Blind Stokers Club, a group of outstanding people doing something really swell, and equally fun.  Wear your CFS colors if you have them, so we can spread the BSC-CFS message around the lake and on future rides around the county, leading up to Cycling for Sight (CFS) August 7-9, 2009.

Dave White