There’s something magical about the desert’s endless expanse of land, corridors, washes, and buttes – and something extra special about experiencing this space with other folks who also happen to be blind or visually impaired (BVI). I recently traveled to California’s infamous Death Valley to join the Blind Stokers Club for a few days of unforgettable tandem cycling, hiking, and adventuring in the hottest, driest, and lowest place on the continent.

15 stokers and guides gather for a group photo wearing our Blind Stokers Club shirts, bike shorts, and helmets. Many of the club members have on sunglasses, and we are standing off the road in the sand and dirt with mountains in the background.
15 stokers and guides gather for a group photo wearing our Blind Stokers Club shirts, bike shorts, and helmets. Many of the club members have on sunglasses, and we are standing off the road in the sand and dirt with mountains in the background.
Erik, Bob, Mark, and three (3) other BSC members hiking a desert trail in Death Valley National Park.
Erik, Bob, Mark, and three (3) other BSC members hiking a desert trail in Death Valley National Park.

The Blind Stokers Club

The Blind Stokers Club (BSC) was started in 2005 in San Diego, CA by Dave White. Today the club “reaches across the USA and around the world to enable and promote blind tandeming” at recreational, amateur, and competitive levels. The BSC believes in the joy and freedom of bicycle riding and works to connect, support, and celebrate the goals and achievements of stokers (the BVI riders in the back) and captains (the sighted riders in the front) everywhere. In the last 17 years, BSC members have pedaled over 400,000 members miles worldwide and the club has hosted 44 BSCAdventures in destinations like Catalina Island, Big Bear, Arroyo Grande, and now, Death Valley, to name a few.

A blue truck carrying two (2) tandem bikes in Death Valley.
A blue truck carrying two (2) tandem bikes in Death Valley.
A stoker and captain riding a tandem bike in Death Valley – kitted out in their BSC gear – alongside a single, sighted rider.
A stoker and captain riding a tandem bike in Death Valley – kitted out in their BSC gear – alongside a single, sighted rider.

To Tell the Truth

I learned about the Blind Stokers club in 2018 when I was a contestant on the television show, To Tell the Truth. The premise of the show is that four celebrity judges have to figure out who amongst three contestants is telling the truth about their “unusual” occupation or experience.

My secret was that I climbed Mount Everest blind, but what made this difficult for the judges to identify was that my co-contestants were also blind! It was quite the ruse, and it’s actually how I met my friend, Mark Woodward, who told me about “riding blind” with the Blind Stokers Club. I reached out to the club after the show and later invited Mark to join me at our annual No Barriers Summit.

Erik, Mark, Bob, and two (2) other BSC members taking a group photo at the Gower Gulch Junction in Death Valley National Park. Mark is in the foreground wearing all gray and holding a white and red cane.
Erik, Mark, Bob, and two (2) other BSC members taking a group photo at the Gower Gulch Junction in Death Valley National Park. Mark is in the foreground wearing all gray and holding a white and red cane.
Erik and Mark exploring the desert together. Erik is navigating the terrain with a two-pole trekking strategy while Mark has a single white and red cane, more traditionally used in urban environments.
Erik and Mark exploring the desert together. Erik is navigating the terrain with a two-pole trekking strategy while Mark has a single white and red cane, more traditionally used in urban environments.
Mark uses his hand to feel the rocky surface of the mountains.
Mark uses his hand to feel the rocky surface of the mountains.

“The Essence of Adventuring with Friends in Arms”

Before this trip, ​​I had never been to Death Valley … which is why I thought it sounded exciting when Mark mentioned he was going with the BSC this January. So, my friend and captain, Bob Kauffman, and I signed up to share some miles with Mark and 12 other BVI stokers, their rockstar captains, and a handful of amazing volunteers.

We did several beautiful rides (on a real high-quality Santana bike the BSC loaned us!), the climax of which was a route that took us to and from a ghost town called Rhyolite in the Bullfrog Hills on the eastern boundary of the park. Rhyolite is a volcanic rock, similar to Granite, that’s millions of years old and was mined to exhaustion here in the early 1900s – then the town went bust. We awed at its apocalyptic ruins then descended almost 4,000-feet in 20-miles back to our start in Furnace Creek at 200-feet below sea level. It was crazy flying down the steep isolated road, peddling about ten rotations in the entire descent. Ha!

Erik, Bob, two (2) other stokers and captains, and one single club rider stop at the base of rock formation for a photo beside their bicycles.
Erik, Bob, two (2) other stokers and captains, and one single club rider stop at the base of rock formation for a photo beside their bicycles.
The remains of a building in Rhyolite.
The remains of a building in Rhyolite.
A BSC stoker and captain ride off down a paved road that cuts between low-lying mountains in Death Valley National Park.
A BSC stoker and captain ride off down a paved road that cuts between low-lying mountains in Death Valley National Park.

When we weren’t cycling we took advantage of hiking in and around areas like Badwater Basin, which is 282 below sea level and gets its name from the undrinkable water that bubbles up to the surface in the form of salt pools after running off the nearby mountains. 

Another stunning area was the Devil’s Golf Course, a deposit of crystallized salt. It’s an incredible juxtaposition – these crusted, crystalized, coral-like, and nearly lifeless salt deposits abutting the foothills of the massive Sierra Nevadas … and as amazing is the fact that not too far away, there are also enormous, almost otherworldly sand dunes, where we could take off our shoes and hike barefoot! 

On the last day we hiked through this winsome wash, scrambled up onto the buttes above, and trekked across a set of ridges that were hundreds of feet above the flashes, with mesquite, creosote, and cactus all around – each of us helping the other to navigate and take in the terrain.

Erik and Bob standing beside a sign that reads: Badwater Basin, 282 Feet/85.5 Meters Below Sea Level.
Erik and Bob standing beside a sign that reads: Badwater Basin, 282 Feet/85.5 Meters Below Sea Level.
A mesmerizing shot of the salt flats running up against the mountains with blue skies above.
A mesmerizing shot of the salt flats running up against the mountains with blue skies above.
Erik and Bob stop hiking to admire the desert beauty. They are on a trail high above a series of low spiny ridges with larger mountains soaring up from the other side of the basin.
Erik and Bob stop hiking to admire the desert beauty. They are on a trail high above a series of low spiny ridges with larger mountains soaring up from the other side of the basin.
Erik links arms with a BSC member wearing a “Blind Rider” while hiking in the desert; two (2) more BSC members walk behind them, one with poles, another with a husky dog.
Erik links arms with Walt, a BSC member and lawyer wearing a “Blind Rider” vest, while hiking in the desert; two (2) more BSC members walk behind them, one with poles, another with a Husky dog.
Erik climbs a rock formation to feel its shapes and grooves with his hands.
Erik climbs a rock formation to feel its shapes and grooves with his hands.
Erik waving his arms from the top of a dune, dwarfed by the scale of the sand piled up.
Erik waving his arms from the top of a dune, dwarfed by the scale of the sand piled up.

It was a great time riding with Bob and reconnecting with friends like Mark and Walt, and meeting new friends like a guy who practices jiu-jitsu and owns a dojo, and a heart attack survivor! Everyone on the trip seemed to really be craving community and that’s exactly what we got – filling our time with stories, food, campfires, guitar, and a lot of laughing. One night we even showed the first episode of Welcome to Earth and I gave a little Q&A afterward.

Erik standing at the front of a room responding to questions from BSC club members about his experience filming Welcome to Earth.
Erik standing at the front of a room responding to questions from BSC club members about his experience filming Welcome to Earth.

Club founder Dave White really put it best in an email to me and Bob:

“From our meetup and entrance-ride from Badwater Basin to WTE screening to Zabriskie Point “Lollipop” hike – I was captivated by the essence of adventuring with friends in arms – most having a first taste of Death Valley together!”

Rope Up & Reach Out

It’s often exceptionally hard for blind and low vision folks to do physically rewarding activities like bicycling – we have to find partners, map routes, and orchestrate a slew of other detailed plans. The Blind Stokers Club provides the resources and connections many of us need to start breaking through these barriers.

Dave and his grassroots BSC teams are top-notch. They borrow vans, people donate bikes, and all the rides and food are organized by volunteers – and they just knock it out of the park for us members. They take a real logistical puzzle and are brilliant at putting the pieces together.

Bob and I owe a big thank you to everyone at the BSC for making our adventure so memorable. I’m already looking forward to the next and encourage you to learn more and join if you if you’re interested.

BSC Membership is without dues and open to anyone. 

Visit https://blindstokersclub.org/index.html or fill out the Blind Stokers Club Membership Form. As part of its affordability promise, the BSC also provides need-based grants and crowdfunds public and private donations to help remove barriers to entry for those who may require participatory assistance with transportation, lodging, meal, and equipment costs. 

Erik, Dave, and Bob taking a photo together outside.
Erik, Dave, and Bob taking a photo together outside.

Photos courtesy of Bob Kauffman, Dave White, and other stokers, captains, and volunteers from BSCAdventures: Death Valley. All photos are available here.

No Barriers Podcast – The Blind Stokers Club

No Barriers Podcast Episode 139 - Blind Stokers Club - Featuring 2 sets of stokers and captains riding tandem bikes.
No Barriers Podcast Episode 139 – Blind Stokers Club – Featuring 2 sets of stokers and captains riding tandem bikes.

A few weeks after Death Valley, BSC Founder Dave White joined me and Jeff Evans on our No Barriers Podcast. Here’s where you can tune into our conversation:

As Helen Keller, the famous disability rights activist, who happened to be deaf and blind, and who thoroughly enjoyed a spin on her bike as a teenager in the late 1800s, said, “Next to a leisurely walk I enjoy a spin on my tandem bicycle. It is splendid to feel the wind blowing in my face and the springy motion of my iron steed. The rapid rush through the air gives me a delicious sense of strength and buoyancy, and the exercise makes my pulse dance and my heart sing.”  

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