InTandem Offers The Blind Opportunity To Bike In NYC

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One of Lynette Tatum's favorite things to do is bike around New York City.

There's just one problem: She's blind.

But as CBS 2's Diane Macedo reported, Tatum now has found a safe way to get her biking fix thanks to a new organization called InTandem.

The program gives the visually disabled the opportunity to ride bikes. Cyclist ride in pairs on tandem bikes. The "captain," at the front, who can see, steers the bike. The "stoker," at the back, generally does most of the pedaling.

MORE: InTandem Website

"We come out here to Central Park every Saturday morning, and we just ride, said Ayesha McGowan, an InTandem captain and organizer. "And it's just been a lot of fun."

Captains also describe the scene for the stokers during the rides.

"It's great," Dan Abernethy, a captain, said. "You bike around and chit-chat and talk about all kinds of things. And it's just a lot of fun, and I just hope the stokers enjoy it as much as I do really."

There appears to be no need for concern on that front.

"It gives me a chance to interact with a lot of people, and mostly I love riding," one stoker said. "It gives me a chance to do some exercise. It's just a lot of fun."

Tatum said the highlight for her was recently completing the 40-mile Five Boro Bike Tour.

"If you ever tackled the Verrazano Bridge through the wind, I'm telling you, I'm proud of myself," she said.

The group's founders hope to expand the program to include more riders, nighttime rides, weekend trips and maybe some day the Tour de France.

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