Over my 10yrs in the sport of triathlon I have seen and…. let’s be honest probably more accurately heard a lot of interesting and funny things from the unknowing triathlete and bystander with respect to how I compete. Some common occurrences include “that’s cheating”, “that’s not fair” and “there’s a tandem division?” but I won’t discuss these frequented comments in this blog. To these I say, there is no other way for me to compete in the sport. To this my guides have said, “Well, is it fair that he must live without vision?” Putting this aside, let’s get to the good stuff. I have broken this up into “In Race” and “Out of Race” sections for ease of understanding the context.
Out of Race:
“Who sits on the front of the tandem?” – I love this one. I always imagine to myself the disaster we would have if my guide sat on the back yelling out commands to stop and/or turn the bike.
“Does your guide pedal?” – I hope he is pedaling because I don’t think any human being could push over 350lbs up hills and then run after.
“Who controls the brakes and gears?” – Again, I can only imagine if I was controlling the gears and breaks what fun we would have.
“What if your guide has to pee on the bike” – Well, probably shouldn’t answer this one but I will. Just remove the water bottles and let it flow. (haha)
“If you win the race, does your guide get second?”— This would be nice but the guide isn’t registered. He is only there to get me through the race.
In Race:
The bike typically spurs on one of three comments. Little Joey on the side of the rode exclaims, “Look mom it’s a double bike.” Other participant’s adamitte about drafting rules may say to my guide, “Hey he’s drafting!” Yet other cyclists alert my guide, “He’s not pedaling on the back.”
On the run, the real funny comments start spilling out. Some of them are cleverer than others. The comments typically come from the spectators who are totally confused and shocked by the situation.
“Hey look its two convicts”
“They’re using the buddy system”
“There is some great teamwork”
“Way to stick together”
“Don’t let him get away from you”
“Look they have a leash”
“You can do that?”
“Here comes Aaron Scheidies with his escort”
“Aaron and his handler …. (name)”
Aaron's Adventures 