Blind and sighted on bicycles built for two

Members of CanVelo, an Israeli organization for the visually impaired, cycle into a new adventure

Nine visually challenged bikers maneuvering a difficult ropes course, whitewater rafting and off-road cycling daily through the Czech countryside?

What sounds like an implausible undertaking is merely the latest adventure for the group CanVelo. And not just any group. Twenty-four blind and sighted members of its Sharon chapter — equipped with tandem bikes — recently spent a week cycling in the Czech Republic.

“It was the first time that we biked outside of Israel,” said Uri Basha, a leader of the self-funded group of 50. “After we came back, the whole group said that they wanted to do that again.”

CanVelo (a play on the Hebrew words for yes and no) began in 2006 as an organization of the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind. It now has three regional groups in Israel — north, south and Sharon — and one in Manhattan. Members participate weekly in tandem bike rides of 30-40 kilometers in different parts of Israel, with a sighted captain steering in front on each tandem and a blind or visually impaired stoker providing power in the back.

Members of CanVelo enjoy tandem biking in the Czech Republic. (photo courtesy of Ken Milman)
Members of CanVelo enjoy tandem biking in the Czech Republic. (photo courtesy of Ken Milman)

According to Basha, who became blind during the 1982 Lebanon War, tandem bike riding provides fitness, freedom and the chance for the stokers, all of whom live in cities, to “be close to nature.”

They ride in many places not accessible by car. Throughout the trips, the captains constantly describe the surroundings to the stokers.

“During the trip, the captain gives me eyes — everything that he can describe,” Basha said. “Sometimes we stop the tandem and he says ‘come with me’ and has me feel.”

Members of CanVelo Sharon enjoy river rafting in the Czech Republic. (photo courtesy of Ken Milman)
Members of CanVelo Sharon enjoy river rafting in the Czech Republic. (photo courtesy of Ken Milman)

While abroad, CanVelo Sharon visited Prague and its Jewish Quarter, and enjoyed river rafting and a ropes course.

“There were people on the ropes course who looked at it as analogous with their life, and really having no choice but to go forward,” said Ken Milman, a captain. “Though some of the sighted people didn’t want to do it because they were afraid.”

Sion High School in Hradec Kralove hosted the group. There, members met Israeli ambassador to the Czech Republic Gary Koren, toured Jewish cemeteries and Hradec Kralove’s synagogue, and visited a memorial plaque in honor of Israeli pilots trained in Czech airports who later fought in Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.

Members of CanVelo enjoy river rafting while visiting the Czech Republic. (photo courtesy of Ken Milman)
Members of CanVelo enjoy river rafting while visiting the Czech Republic. (photo courtesy of Ken Milman)

“I don’t think most of the blind people think they’re handicapped in any way,” Milman said. “They try to make that known. They try to function and have normal lives. It’s been such an amazing experience to be part of this group.”

In light of the week’s success, Basha said he and the group are already considering plans for another trip abroad next year.

Members of CanVelo Sharon meet Gary Koren, Israel's ambassador to the Czech Republic, in Hradec Kralove. (Photo courtesy of Ken Milman)
Members of CanVelo Sharon meet Gary Koren, Israel’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, in Hradec Kralove. (Photo courtesy of Ken Milman)

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