Blind cyclists complete 400km ride

“THE wind on my face was exhilarating and it made me feel good to be alive,” recalled Kiw Sin Ee.

The 24-year-old lass from Johor was describing her experience after cycling 400km from Kuala Lumpur to Perak in a tandem bicycle expedition.

“There were times it was so hard, especially going uphill, but when we went downhill, it was so much fun,’’ Kiw said, adding that it really tested her resilience.

Her trainees from the Gurney Training centre, Mohd Amirul Azhar, 24, Qairil Azry, 22, and Hassan Ali, 19, also took park in the event and each of them used various adjectives to describe their experience.

“It was hard but fun too,’’ said Mohd Amirul.

“I enjoyed it so much,’’ chipped in Qairil.

(From left) Hassan, Qairil, Kiw and Mohd Amirul celebrating their achievement. — Photos: NORAFIFI EHSAN and KAMARUL ARIFFIN/The Star.

The youths were part of a 90-member tandem bicycle team that took park in a 400km journey from Kuala Lumpur-Selangor-Tasik Banding, Perak.

Out of 90 crew members, 20 of the participants were visually impaired while the rest were volunteers from different government agencies.

They spent four days travelling 100km to Slim River, 100km to Ipoh, 150km to Gerik, and 50km to Tasik Banding Perak.

Day Three proved to be the most challenging for the participants as they had to travel 70km uphill in harsh weather.

“The rain whipped at us from all angles, and I could feel the biting cold.

“But my captain (pilot rider) kept urging me on and was very supportive,” Kiw said.

“My captain kept telling me to keep going, keep going, work hard, enjoy later,” said Mohd Amirul.

Event organising chairman Sumitha Thavanendran said the team had been training for the expedition since February.

“Every weekend was spent training for the event; we initially started with 10km to 20km a week, and it graduated to 100km to the week leading up to the event,” Sumitha said.

Sumitha, who is also Malaysian Association for the Blind education & training unit senior manager, said the event had also helped them identify potential athletes for para games.

“We have a lot of talented people with us and once these talents are identified, we will reach out to the Youth and Sports Ministry and invite them to assess their skills to see if they are eligible for the Paralympics.

“We are proud of our trainees and if they are talented, they must be recognised,’’ said Sumitha.

MAB deputy president Datuk S. Kula-segaran described the event as an exciting one for the participants, especially the visually impaired cyclists.

“Any type of sports stimulates the mind, and particularly for the visually impaired, to be out in the open, that sense of being alive is good for them,’’ Kulasegaran said.

Kulasegaran also expressed his disappointment at not having police escort during the event.

“It’s disappointing that we did not get the escort this time around. MAB is doing the government’s work and we rely on government support in times of need.

“It was a letdown that they did not lend a helping hand this time,’’ he added.

The expedition was supported by the Selangor government and Civil Defence Department, with further assistance from Kuala Lumpur City Hall and organised by Gurney Training Centre.