A fabulous group of dedicated cyclists joined our recent tandem pilot clinic held at the George Burnett Recreation Centre. The clinic focussed on how to ride on the front seat of a tandem, as the pilot. The eighteen trainees had backgrounds in touring, recreational, road, mountain and competition cycling, including some tandem cyclists!

The clinic took our trainees through the basics of mounting, starting and stopping a tandem as well as how to guide and communicate with blind or vision-impaired stokers (the person on the back of the tandem). Participants also took the opportunity to chat to WATCAC members about their cycling experiences. The morning practical included one or two circuits of the bike path riding on the back with eyes closed.

“This is a great way for new pilots to experience what it is like to ride on the rear seat with no vision”, said Jennifer Musgrave, WATCAC’s Ride Co-ordinator.

“This provides a sense of the trust that their future riding partner will be placing in them as pilots, as they develop their volunteering interests with WATCAC”, Ms Musgrave said.

WATCAC would like to give a big thanks to member Connie Price for leading the clinic, to Christine Tinley, Guides4Sight for valuable input and to all our members who helped on the day. WATCAC is a tandem cycling community organisation dedicated to providing riding opportunities to people with a sight disability.

We are always on the lookout for experienced cyclists who enjoy cycling and are happy to share that joy through our form of cycling. We already have a waiting list for our next clinic, if you or someone you know is interested in helping WATCAC in this way, please visit our Contact Us page.