Being National Cycling week I felt it was a really good opportunity to talk about my cycling. I may be vision impaired and so not able to ride a bike independently, it is still possible for me to get out by riding on a tandem with someone else taking the controls and riding up front. I really enjoy being out cycling, being out in the fresh air, the social side of group rides and the thrill of going fast, especially when hitting a good long downhill stretch of road. Riding a tandem can also be good for those who can ride a bike independently but are a weaker cyclist, as the work is shared between two people the weaker cyclist is not going to be left behind and also may be able to cycle further.
Finding a tandem to ride and someone prepared to ride on the front at times can be difficult. So when I found G-Whizz Inclusive Tandem Bike rides it was a really good thing.
Graham Davies started G-Whizz after helping his friend Sharyn to do cycling after a cancer diagnosis. Sharyn's cancer meant that riding a normal bike was difficult, so Graham managed to find a Circe Morpheus tandem where the second rider is on a bench seat, this enabled Sharyn to get in a few more rides before sadly passing away. With the Circe Morpheus costing a lot of money, it was felt it needed to be put to more good use and so G-Whizz as a club was started, offering bike rides to disabled people. Over time Graham discovered vision impaired cyclists tend to prefer a more conventional tandem and so G-Whizz has acquired a number of other tandems to fit a variety of different riders. The latest addition to the G-Whizz fleet of bikes is a triple, a bike for three people to ride, which enables Graham to take out two people on a ride at a time. As well as the bikes, Graham has found a number of volunteers who also can front ride the tandems, so multiple bikes can be out on a group ride.
As a keen cyclist Graham will do rides of a suitable length and challenge for the riders. It may be only a few miles for those with less ability, but for those who can and want to do long rides Graham will arrange rides of over 60 miles.
The G-Whizz FaceBook page is https://www.facebook.com/GWhizzInclusiveTandemBikeRides/ where you can find out more about the club and current activities.
I hope this has encouraged you to also get out on a bike and if you are able to may be you will consider volunteering to front ride a tandem for someone who cannot ride independently.