In Tandem With Nature
When he is biking, 13-year-old Mario Espinoza loves to soak up the sun, hear the leaves rustle and feel the sensation in his stomach each time he speeds down a hill. For Mario, who is blind, using all senses to savor every moment of an adventure is important, he said.
“That was very good,” he exclaimed Saturday after completing a 4-mile ride on a tandem bike with a sighted volunteer. “I wish it could have been longer.”
Mario joined nearly 20 other Orange County blind teenagers who rode in Saturday’s first Tour de Braille, expected to be an annual event, at El Dorado Park in Long Beach. The event, organized by the Anaheim-based Braille Institute, marked the 189th birthday of Louis Braille, who created a code of raised dots that enables the visually impaired to read by touch.
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Saturday’s event was one in a series of outings, including skiing, hiking and rock-climbing trips, that the institute puts on to help blind students stay active and build their self-esteem, school officials said.
“These young people have so much potential,” the institute’s director, Gene Mathiowetz, said as he prepared to ride with a student. “This gets them to work as a team, meet new friends and enjoy things sighted children can too.”
Gaby Anaya, who has partial vision with corrective glasses, giggled as she and her partner, Jane Kim, tested out their blue tandem bike. At first, they wobbled and swerved a bit while trying to coordinate their riding styles. By the end of the course, they were zipping by weeping willow trees and a pond with ducks.
“I like to take risks,” said Anaya, 18. “I like to try new things, even though I have a detached retina.”
Min You rode with her father, 51-year-old Chun Bae You. With synchronicity, the Garden Grove pair pushed off on their left feet and finished in about half an hour. Min You, 18, said she had not ridden a bike in nine years.
“It’s a strange feeling to get on a bike again,” she said, smiling. “It’s a very high feeling. I feel really tall.”
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Along the trail, students stopped at six stations at which they were quizzed on various topics, including the story of Louis Braille.
Three winners were selected based on their finish time and the number of questions they answered correctly along the way.
Hugo Gallegos, 18, took first place, finishing the race in 21 minutes. Juan Ruiz, 16, was second at 22 minutes. And Anaheim resident Shayla Gustafson, 18, was third--not for speed as much as for correct answers to the questions.
Juan, of Fullerton, said he enjoys sports, so for him the bike trail was a breeze. “I love adventures,” he said, wiping perspiration from his forehead at the end of the race. “It shows to others that I am capable of a lot of things.”