Meet Kevin O’Meley, an extraordinary individual with a passion for cycling despite facing the challenges of vision impairment. Through sheer determination and profound love for the sport, Kev has proven that obstacles are merely opportunities to push the boundaries. In only three years of tandem racing, this Southern Highlands local has racked up quite the list of achievements in spite of having less than 10 degrees of peripheral vision remaining. Kev participated in last year’s Bowral Classic completing the 120km Challenge Classic with pilot cyclist and friend Richard Vollebregt. We caught up with the 51-year-old to discuss all things cycling ahead of this year’s event.<\/p>\n
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How long have you been racing?<\/strong> <\/p>\n Tell us about riding a tandem – how is it to ride? How often do you head out? What kind of comments do you get when out and about? Being vision impaired, cycling must be so liberating and enjoyable, would you like to tell us more about what cycling means to you?
\nI have ridden bicycles most of my life, riding endurance rides with my brother in our youth. Back in July 2020 I contacted the Southern Highlands Cycling Club asking if they knew of anyone that would be keen to take on the tandem pilot position for competition riding. \u00a0The club came back quite quickly with a yes. Richard and I started training soon after and entered club races. \u00a0Over the years Richard has become a friend and a mentor, encouraging me to continue racing. \u00a0After racing and training twice a week we decided to enter the State Championships. Fronting up to our first competition – we came in second, some 1.5mins behind the winner of the time trial. \u00a0This was an eye opener for what is required to be competitive. \u00a0Since that day I have trained hard in my goal to become the best I can. \u00a0Those days paid off and in 2021 we entered the National Championships in the B (Blind) Tandem para-cycle category for time trial and Road Race. \u00a0We won the time trial and became National Champions at our first attempt, and placed 3rd in the Road Race. I have competed in many competitions in the three years Richard & I have been racing.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/strong>Riding the tandem, you need to have a lot of trust in your pilot’s ability and bike handling skills. \u00a0When riding or racing there needs to be communication between the pilot and the stoker so to be as smooth as possible in controlling the bike. What I mean is don\u2019t be like a sack of potatoes and flop around on the back, this puts the bike off balance making it hard to steer, balance and control in general.
\nMy tandem is quite good to ride, although awkward in tight situations to turn. Over the years I have made upgrades to make it smoother and faster. \u00a0During the winter months we ride twice a week and in summer about four times, this includes racing at the local velodrome. “Oh there\u2019s two of you on the bike”, “How do you pedal in sync so easily!?”,”Who does the most work?”, “Does the stoker have brakes on his handlebars?”, “Who controls the gears and brakes?” and “Do you fight?” are common questions we receive. <\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Being vision impaired makes life challenging. I have an eye condition called Retinitis pigmentosa (RP for short). It’s an inherited eye disease that slowly deteriorates your peripheral vision.\u00a0Having a good group of people around me makes it a little easier. \u00a0Being able to get out on the tandem has meant I have a friend that is encouraging and tries hard to understand my limitations, making getting out enjoyable even though when we go out it’s training training training and very little social riding. Racing is the best part of riding my tandem, I train hard to be competitive and experience that feeling of exhilaration.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n