Fabulous Women fundraiser benefits blind biking group

After Candace Hayes lost her eyesight in 1993 when a truck plowed through the San Rafael corner store where she’d stopped for coffee, she thought she might never again experience the thrill of adventure.

An active 38-year-old at the time of the life-changing accident, she slowly regained the ability to walk and rebuilt her life, though her blindness halted her career as a cave exploration guide, and also cut off her ability to ride her touring bike. But, with the help of program at a Sonoma County nonprofit and some dedicated volunteers, the Santa Rosa resident is able to once again feel the wind in her hair as she peddles down the open road.

Founded by a Petaluma cyclist, the tandem bike program at the Santa Rosa-based Earle Baum Center pairs sighted cyclists with visually impaired or blind athletes of all skill levels to hit Sonoma County trails and roads for monthly rides.

“I just love it. It’s the high point of my month,” Hayes, 60, said. “I just love being out in the wind and being free and traveling and going and doing something with the feeling of getting good exercise.”

Dubbed The Baum Squad, the program at the Earle Baum Center, a nonprofit that provides services for people with sight loss, is just one of many networks that connect “pilots,” or sighted cyclists, with “stokers,” or visually impaired or blind bike riders, with thousands of cyclists registered across the nation, according to nonprofit U.S. Blind Tandem Cycling Connection.

Though Hayes was scared the first time she got back on a bike, she said communication has been key to creating trust. It’s been more than a year since she connected with The Baum Squad, and she said the program has helped her build a community and a stronger sense of confidence.

“It really makes me confident that I can do things I never even thought about doing,” she said. “It’s really fun to do with all the people.”

For founder Steven Cozza, the program has been a way to rekindle his love for the road while also giving sight-impaired athletes a chance to peddle toward their dreams. Cycling has long been a passion for Cozza, but when he was sidelined from the professional racing circuit in 2012, he says he lost some of the drive that kept him in the saddle.

As a pro cyclist, the native Petaluman was a member of the top-ranked Garmin team, touring the world and making a name for himself during his decade-long cycling career. During his years on the road, the Petaluma High School graduate kept his ties with his hometown, and on his breaks in the late 2000s, he’d return to cross train by taking visually-impaired athletes out on tandem bikes as a way to stay in shape while making an impact on his community.

A colitis diagnosis pulled him from competitive cycling at 26, and as he was unwinding from his whirlwind career, he decided to establish the tandem bike program.

“It’s helping me out to find my love for biking again,” Cozza, 31, said. “I really enjoyed racing because I was pursuing a dream and my goals. I ended up getting colitis and I wasn’t able to train or race anymore, and the whole reason for me loving bikes got torn away … but I’m enjoying (cycling) way more than ever now because of this program.”

In the past four years, the local program has grown, with 40 trained pilots and about 20 visually impaired athletes from around the county now cycling in the 10- to 20-mile rides each month, Cozza said. Program participants range in age from teens to older adults, he said.

Though membership is thriving, Cozza, a Petaluma real estate agent who also organizes the yearly Petaluma Kid’s Gran Fondo fundraiser, said resources are scarce, with only seven or eight well-functioning bikes to take out on the weekend rides.

To help bolster the program, the Fabulous Women of Sonoma County will be hosting an Aug. 21 “Family Bike Bonanza,” at Lucchesi Park, inviting the community to meet Cozza as well as members of the Earle Baum Center, ride bikes around the space and raise funds for a tandem bike to add to the Baum Squad’s inventory.

“I think we can really make a difference,” said organizer Melissa Becker, a Fabulous Women of Sonoma County board member. “The Fabulous Women try to put our arms out in the community. To help people in need and also to raise awareness through this is the perfect opportunity for us.”

The event, which runs from 1 to 3 p.m., will also feature cookies, a raffle for a bike, lemonade and face painting by Budder Ball the Clown as well as other activities. The organization hopes to raise $2,500 to purchase a tandem bike, with Becker’s brother, Shannon Sovndal, who was a team physician for Garmin, matching the amount raised to buy a second bike if the goal is met.

“It’s all about getting people together in a positive way,” said Becker, who also serves as the principal of Meadow Elementary School. “People feel that they might not have enough money to buy a tandem bike, but they maybe have $20 to put toward the cause and make a difference in the world.”

Tax-deductible donations can also be made online at thefabulouswomen.com through the end of the month. (Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)