Ever Rode With An Olympian?

Many of you may not know but I have been fortunate enough to ride a few of my races on a tandem with Paralympic Bronze Medalist Gavin Kilpatrick. Gavin and myself partnered up in 2010 at the Dischem Ride for Sight  for the first time. The race was also my first attempt on a Tandem bike and most people get to perform this feat as the stoker. In my case with a visually impaired rider I got automatic qualification for the pilot position.

We have as a partnership gone from strength to strength over the past year performing duties and raising funds for various charity organisations as well as becoming better friends on and off the bike. I have grown particularly fond of Gavin's lightheartedness with regards to my insensitivity to his condition. I sometimes whilst riding tend to say things like "jeeez Gavin did you see that" only to hear a little laugh from behind and some snide comment. Another thing I like about Gavin  is that he is alway complaining about something on the back of the bike and out of the two of us is the guy who always wins the "handbag"award at the end of the day.

Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of our Tandem partnership as we once again took part in the Dischem Ride For Sight and we had good fortune. We were kept back by the TV crew for an interview for 5 minutes after the start of our bunch which put paid to our aspirations of winning the group. However the awareness and inspiration these interviews give to other people who suffer from retinitis pigmentosa as well as their famillies far outweighs winning any cycle race. We did however put our heads down and did a 116Km time trial to triumph in the Disabled Tandem Category. Looking back at the time we completed the race the guys who won can thank their lucky stars we got held back. I think we would have given them a good run for their money. The victory also did us proud as we became the inaugural winners of a title for Gavins new cycling club Cyclelink . With such good fortune and exposure on our first attempt we look forward to a steady growth in membership figures for Gavin's club as well as more titles to follow.

The event was a success for us personally as well as a success for Retina South Africa the organisation working tirelessly to help people suffering from degenerating vision. Please visit the Retina South Africa Web Site and sign up or make a donation or simply SMS Vision to 38267 to make an instant R10 donation (Applies to South Africa only). Retina South Africa

6am Getting Ready

The Podium :)

Those Really Are Gold Medals

Supporting Retina S.A.