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>>Riding on the back of a
bicycle built for two, it's easy
to see that Bryant McKinley
loves the sport of cycling.
(Bryant McKinley) I enjoy a
challenge whether riding a
bicycle as fast as I can and
competing with people. I've
often said I don't have an
uncompetitive bone in my body.
>>What you might not see is the
fact that McKinley can't see at
all. (McKinley) I had good
vision for a great part of my
life. And about thirty years ago
an eye disease called retinitis
pigmentosis caught up to me and
I went quite quickly blind at
that point. >>But even without
eyesight this active senior from
Spokane has a vibrant vision to
win. With an ultra-sharp mind's
eye, McKinley has his cycling
dream clearly in sight.
(McKinley) When you win the
National Championship in bicycle
racing they give you a star
spangled banner, red, white, and
blue jersey. My goal is to win
the National Championship and
win one of the red, white, and
blue jerseys which I've always
wanted to do. And actually just
being able to compete and be
able to do it is the goal.
>>Born in Oklahoma and raised in
the Pacific Northwest, McKinley
has been racing bikes for over
30 years. (McKinley) I started
racing bicycles in 1977 and I
raced single bikes back then and
I was in the top 5 in the state
championships for many years and
continued after I lost my vision
racing tandem bikes. >>In 1988,
McKinley was a U.S. masters
tandem national champion. Yet
the spoils of that victory
didn't include the coveted red,
white and blue jersey.
(McKinley) When I won the
championship in '88, they
weren't giving them out to the
blind people. >>So for 25 years,
McKinley has been on a mission
to once again summit the
national championship podium.
One of his biggest challenges
has been finding someone who
could steer him toward his
championship dream. Last summer,
McKinley looked up an old friend
and fellow bike racer for help.
(Tomas Lynch) He liked my riding
style and my racing background.
He was comfortable with me
leading the way. >>Spokane
cyclist Tomas Lynch hopes to
navigate McKinley back down the
road of champions. He shares
McKinley's passion for cycling.
(Lynch) I started riding a
bicycle when I was 4 years old.
I found that it was freedom.
It's an activity that speaks to
me, it's something I've done
most of my life and I just enjoy
it. There's nothing better than
riding my bike.
I met Bryant 25
years ago, I volunteered for the
Spokane Parks and Rec Department
where we took physically and
visually challenged on tandem
bike rides. And he was one of
the participants in the program
and we got along well and we
rode well together. >>With the
national masters cycling
championships in the fall,
McKinley and Lynch spent the
summer training with their
pedals to the metal. (McKinley)
We're getting out about five
times a week and running between
180 to 250 miles a week, and
doing some real intensive hill
work as well as interval work,
so we're doing some pretty heavy
duty training. >>Along the way,
they gained much more than
fitness. (Lynch) Bryant is a
great guy to ride with. You
know, when there's serious
effort he puts the hammer down
and goes. And in between times
he's quite a joker. (McKinley)
Tomas I've known for a long
time. He and I have a similar
sort of sarcastic sense of humor
and are interested in a lot of
the same sort of things:
motorcycles, cars, as well as
bicycling and women, and so as a
result we get along real well.
"Hey, Tomas, today we've got
another blind date." "Okay,
sounds good." >>The art of
riding a tandem bike comes with
its own palette of pedaling
skills and terminology. (Lynch)
On a tandem there's a captain
and a stoker; the captain drives
the train, controls it, shifts,
brakes, and steers. And the
stoker is a train term, the guy
who stoked the fire on the old
steam engines and so he sits
back and powers. You have to
have good handling skills; it's
kind of like driving a semi,
nobody can just jump into the
driver's seat and go you have to
have skill and technique.
(McKinley) He's a good bike
handler and good gear selector
and such. It's frustrating if
you're on the back of a bike if
you've done it yourself for a
long time and the person doesn't
do the gears properly and do the
cornering and braking the way
you'd like to do it, but he does
real well. We fit very well
together. When you're riding on
the back of a tandem bicycle and
you're blind, I'm used to not
being able to see anyway, so
most of the time I kind of ride
along with my head down and my
eyes closed and I just kind of
feel the motions of the bike and
experience the sounds and the
feel of it. >>McKinley's
showdown with the stars and
stripes jersey came last
September at the 2012 USA
Cycling Masters National
Championships in Bend, Oregon.
The 50 mile road race didn't
roll his way. Even so, he still
found joy in the journey, and
won a victory by being there.
(Lynch) Bryant is an inspiration
to me. I don't want to say for
his age he's a strong rider, he
is a strong rider. And I am
surprised every time we ride
how much he can dig deep into a
suitcase of courage and pull out
more strength. He never ceases
to amaze me. (McKinley) Getting
to know Tomas and he and I
growing to where we fit together
well and work well as a team I
think will be the best memories
of the thing. The fact that we
were able to be there and give
it a go is a wonderful thing in
itself. >>In the words of author
and educator Helen Keller, "the
only thing worse than being
blind is having sight but no
vision." The vision of Bryant
McKinley gives him the look of a
winner - on and off the bike.
And through his keen mind's eye,
he'll keep a sharp focus on
making his star spangled dream a
reality. (McKinley) It'll be the
icing on top of that cake.
>>And that's easy
for anyone to see.