Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 19, 1995 TAG: 9506210038
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SHANNON D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Close your eyes and imagine speeding down a hill on a bicycle at 50 miles an hour. That gives you an idea of how Steve Aukward spends his leisure time.
As a teen-ager, one of the many things Aukward had the energy and ability to do was ride a bike. But, at age 17, he was diagnosed with an eye disease that caused him to go blind. His days of riding bikes were over.
Or so he thought.
Almost 25 years later, he is at it again with a little help from Jim Ritchie, Roanoke's assistant city manager.
Ritchie, 52, has been an avid bicyclist for about 11 years. He got the idea to ask Aukward to ride with him from serving on a committee of the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club. The committee is determining whether it is feasible to sponsor a program in which club members would ride with blind people on a two-seat, or tandem, bicycle.
Ritchie had previously purchased a tandem bike for himself and his wife. He then approached Aukward, who works across the street from his municipal building office as regional manager of the Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped.
Aukward, a swimmer, was in good shape and was interested in teaming up with Ritchie.
"We met at Penn Forest [Elementary School] and rode in the parking lot," Ritchie said. "Steve and I rode around the parking lot one and a half times and I said 'Steve, I think we're ready.'"
"Steve immediately caught on," Ritchie said. "That day, we did about 11 miles."
Since then, Ritchie and Aukward have ridden about 2,000 miles together, many of them on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Two Saturdays ago, the two took their longest trip together, about 85 miles in one day, from Troutville to Lexington on the parkway.
On Friday, the biking duo will attempt another feat as Aukward becomes the first blind participant in the eighth annual Bike Virginia, a 350-mile tour across the state and into parts of North Carolina.
Aukward may not be able to see every mountain or tree on their rides, but his appreciation of the natural environment is as great as any sighted biker.
"Once I'm on a bike, in many ways I don't feel blind," Aukward said. "Cycling allows me a freedom of movement."
The biking pair has encountered some of the most exhilarating sights in Virginia on their rides, and Aukward enjoys every moment of it.
"If there is a particularly picturesque scene, [Ritchie] will take a moment or two to describe things to me," he said.
For some things, though, Aukward doesn't need a description.
"I enjoy hearing the birds and gurgling brooks," he said. "It feels good to be out there. Vision is a secondary thing."
Another aspect of the ride that Aukward enjoys is the high speeds he and Ritchie can reach, especially downhill. Because a tandem carries more weight, Ritchie said speed is gained faster, reaching up to 50 or 60 mph.
"I really like the speed aspect," Aukward said. "I enjoy the freedom and exhilaration I feel."
Ritchie, on the other hand, says his tolerance for speed isn't quite as great. "I don't like to go over 50," he said. "You can ride safely and still do pretty good speed."
For now, Ritchie is Aukward's main biking companion. Aukward hopes his wife, Judy, who is sighted, might be interested in riding tandem someday. He also would like to team up with his daughters Erin, 12, and Caitlin, 10.
Recreation is only one of the things Aukward hopes to get from his biking excursions. Recently, he returned from Colorado where he tried out for the tandem racing event in the 1996 ParaOlympic games, which are held for the disabled in Atlanta two weeks after the Summer Olympics.
Aukward, a member of the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, said the ParaOlympics would be his toughest challenge, since most of his riding has been noncompetitive.
"I have a dream of being out there," Aukward said. At age 45, he said, if he's going to do it, "it's going to have to be now."
Aukward's younger brother, Joseph, also is blind and is trying out for the 1996 ParaOlympics as a member of the pentathlon team. "Quite candidly, he has a better chance," Aukward said.
Aukward has spent 22 years in a career of helping others who are visually handicapped. But he hopes his athletic accomplishments will be an even greater inspiration to those who have dreams of doing things they thought they could never do.
"It's important for people to understand that a disability doesn't mean you can't have a full life," he said.
Within the last six months, Aukward said, some members of the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club have purchased tandem bikes and have volunteered to ride with a blind person.
"Our goal is to increase this opportunity to others who are blind," Aukward said.
Anyone interested in teaming up with a rider on a tandem can contact Steve Aukward between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (703) 857-7122.
by CNB