[Sportsandrec] Thank You Blind Stokers Club: Another Great Cycling for Sight

[Fred's ol' XP]

Hey Blind Stokers, and all!
We couldn't ask for a better weekend weatherwise.  I'm not sure about 
the exact numbers, but a couple-dozen tandem teams participated.  A 
group of 5-stokers from Taiwan rode with us.  The Knights in the 
Darkness is similar to the Blind Stokers Club, except they have 
different artwork,  are based in Taiwan, and mostly speak 
Mandarin.  We all love stoking tandems, reeling in the miles or 
kilometers, and going new places!

The Knights invited all of the BSC to come to Taiwan in 
November.  Their trip here, and the rides along the coast were 
covered by Asian TV and print media.  Good publicity for both 
groups.  (Although I haven't found any coverage via GoogleNews, 
yet.  I'm sure it's gonna be up soon.)

This was my second Cycling for Sight weekend in 3-years.  I had to 
take last Summer off, due to a broken wrist.  I have been riding 
recumbent tandems, because that's what my captains feel most 
comfortable on.  My main recumbent captain also broke his wrist 
recently, so the BSC matched me with a new captain.  He is tall, 
strong, and very experienced.  His bike is a beautiful, historic Jack 
Taylor:  so has a big frame.  I barely fit on it, but once in the 
saddle, it was almost comfortable enough for 230-miles.

My first time on any upright tandem for about 2-years off was the 
Friday before this 3-day ride.  I was skeptical about my fitness, but 
trained hard in the week before the big ride.  We did OK, passed many 
slower teams, helped a couple by encouraging them to hang on our back 
wheel, etc.  The goal is the ride, and it wasn't a race.  We were 
there to have fun, and fun and comradore was what we had over the three days.

The event raised over $50k for the San Diego Blind Ctr, so that was good news

   I can hardly wait to get back out there for another Century!

Stoker-Fred
Carlsbad, CA
www.blindstokersclub.org
www.cyclingforsight.org
PS:  A little web-based info on the Knights follows:

The Knights in the Darkness

http://www.taiwanngo.tw/files/13-1000-17809.php?Lang=en

http://sdnews.com/view/full_story/19272470/article-Blind-Stokers-Club-sets-sights-on-a-good-cause?instance=most_popular1