Being vision-impaired is no impediment to women experiencing the joy of riding bikes, as two tandem ‘stokers’ told us recently.

(A stoker is the rider in the rear seat of a tandem bike – the up-front rider is the pilot.)

Perth-based Jenna Verhoeven rode the 93km loop at this year’s Canola Classic in York on a tandem bike with endurance riding legend Colin Ottoway, who completed the 5500km IndiPac ride from Fremantle to Sydney in 17 days in 2022 (the fastest that year).

“I’ve only been riding a bike since July last year but riding with Colin – because he is a bit of a nutter – we’ve been able to get a few kilometres in quite quickly,” Jenna says. “It’s great to have someone else who is keen to do the events instead of just a casual sleepy Sunday morning ride. If you’re feeling a bit tired or flagging you’ve got someone to bolster you.”

Dancing on the tandem pedals

“The Canola Classic was my first-ever major event – the first time I have ever ridden with so many people and despite the rain it was pretty good. The sun came out, there was blue skies, the canola was pretty, everyone was smiley and happy.”

Jenna has a condition called retinitis pigmentosa that means she has, “no peripheral vision and I can’t see in low light or dark conditions so riding a bike probably isn’t the safest thing for me to do on my own! [laughs]”

“I can’t just get out there and do my miles on my own. So I was a little under-trained for [the Canola Classic] but it was still good. I’m sure Colin and I will finds some more events to do.”

Indeed they have. Jenna and Colin will join about a dozen other pairs from the Western Australian Tandem Cycling Advisory Council (WATCAC) at the Perth Coastal Bike Ride over distances from 40km to 100km later in the year.

‘It’s a bit of freedom…it’s not a job’

Adriana Lepore (stoker) and Anthony Collier have been riding tandem for more than 30 years. The WATCAC life members have ridden their trusty, custom-made titanium tandem bike, the ‘Kerminator’, all over the State, not to mention on epic rides like the 800km Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain.

“Cycling for a vision-impaired person, it’s a bit of freedom,” Adriana says. “You can’t ride the bike on your own but you’re out there riding anyway. It’s great…it’s not a job.”

Previously, while touring through the State, the pair gave talks to school children about being vision-impaired and vision-impaired cycling.

“It’s awareness and for the kids at that age that awareness is fantastic – they grow up with that and they say someone who is blind can do just what anyone else can do,” Adriana relays. “And for kids in the class that also have got maybe an eye problem it helps them as well to see that they also can get out there to do what they want to do.”

Taking tandem bike riding to the people

WATCAC has been the focal point for vision-impaired cycling in WA since the 1980s, and is always seeking to normalise tandem bike riding.

“We’re only a small group and there are probably more vision-impaired people than volunteers so we are trying to get more people to join us,” Jenna says.

WATCAC Committee member Jennifer Musgrave told us the club always welcomed new riders, especially pilots. “Being a pilot you learn a lot about riding. It takes a special breed.”

The 50-member strong club hosts around three rides per month in Perth, gives tuition to new riders, and has a stable of about 20 tandem bikes that can be accessed by vision-impaired cyclists over periods of up to six months for nominal fees.