The Beacon Message Board

Beacon member Roger Green is seeking some new sighted pilots to join him on his bespoke Longstaff for occasional social rides from Cofton Hackett. Some of us having been doing this for years but we are getting worn out and it would great to find some new partners.

Roger despite being blind has a detailed knowledge of the local routes and has ridden End to End and many Audax long distance events from 200-600k. Nowadays Roger rides twice a week with a rota of pilots including myself covering up to 40 miles with or without a cafe stop.

Tandem riding is a different discipline and takes some getting used to but Roger is a tough and amazingly trusting stoker. With a powerful rider up front a tandem is a joy to ride on the flat or downhill uphill involves some grovelling but the gears are just right and the bike is designed to accommodate riders of different sizes up front.

So if you've done all the club runs and fancy a change why not try a bit of tandem riding?? PM me if you want some advice or contact Roger direct on roger.green1943@gmail.com or 0121 445 1056

Anyone volunteered for this? Heard he may still be looking for a pilot or two.

I had an enforced period out of piloting Roger's tandem last year, but I'm going to start going out with him again soon.

I can only endorse the comments above: a little adjustment is needed, but it's nothing that any averagely capable cyclist can't do, and it's good fun. It's also putting a little bit back into a sport that all of us take a huge amount from.

Even if you're available only a handful of times a year, it'll make a welcome difference to Roger. You don't even need to give up your normal Sunday cycling activities: he's usually open to the idea of a Saturday or midweek ride.

I've volunteered. I've never ridden a tandem however but will be giving it a go and see how I get on at the end of this month. I'm looking forward to it.