Free tandem bike service for blind Nova Scotians growing, says organizers

Blind Sport Nova Scotia is looking for experienced bikers to take blind and low vision Maritimes on rides.

Blind Sports Nova Scotia’s free tandem bike program has been running for more than a decade, and the group says it’s continuing to grow.

The program offers its services to people who are blind and low-vision, giving them the opportunity to safely try riding a bike, led by a volunteer, friend or family member.

As demand grows, so does the need for more volunteer pilots.

The group hosted a blindness information session and pilot workshop for new pilots Monday night.

Jennie Bovard, tandem bikes co-ordinator with Blind Sports Nova Scotia, says more people registered than they were expecting.

She emphasizes the importance of the “Blindness 101” workshops in the volunteers’ training.

“It’s really important that our tandem bike volunteer pilots understand blindness and how to best assist and support people while they’re out tandem biking,” she says.

Blind Sports Nova Scotia offers a fleet of bikes for people to borrow, and they can also be loaned out long-term.

“They can take them home, they can take them to the trails, on the streets, and not just in HRM, they can basically take the bikes wherever they would like,” she says. “We also offer a roster of volunteer pilots that they can engage if they don’t have a friend or a loved one that they would like to go riding with.”

She says the volunteers were the whole point of Monday’s workshop.

“We’re always looking for confident, experienced pilots, cyclists who are really as passionate about us as putting butts on bikes,” says Bovard.

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