On May 7, 8 & 9, Team OAM Now members, Kathy and Doug Kirk, were able to share their love of cycling while working with Western Michigan University’s Sports Education Camp and the Michigan Blind Athletic Association.In cooperation with one another, the two organizations bring together cyclists and visually impaired children who do not normally have the opportunity to participate in recreational and athletic events like cycling. 
Over the weekend, approximately a dozen tandem captains, including Kathy and Doug, took blind school age kids for rides on tandem cycles. Not only does this event give the kids an opportunity to experience a bike ride, but it’s also an opportunity for cyclists to share their passion and their sport.
It’s a project that both Kathy and Doug love, having participated in the annual event for several years now. “This is one genuinely heartwarming way to spend an evening or three. Some of the kids are scared half to death, and some wiggle around so much back there it’s hard to keep the bike aimed down the road. But, much like us,” Kathy says, “most of them simply love riding and can’t get enough of it.”
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Kathy and Doug encourage interested cyclists to participate in the program (you can find more information here), but they suggest that if you have access to a tandem bike and know a visually impaired person, don’t hesitate to put him or her on the back. “We guarantee it’ll make your day and theirs too.”
