‘We only have one life’
Paul Glass cannot see but that did not stop him becoming the first blind person to cycle the length of New Zealand. The Timaruvian’s proud of showing ‘‘there is life after disability’’.
Paul Glass set out to prove ‘‘there is life after disability’’ when he became the first blind person to cycle from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South.
The 64-year-old Timaru man tackled the annual Tour Aotearoa, where more than 1000 cyclists pedal from Cape Reinga to Bluff, on a tandem bike with friend Russell Shanks. Setting off on February 17, they averaged about 140 kilometres a day to conquer the 3000km ride on Monday.
‘‘It was certainly a challenge,’’ Glass said.
‘‘I just wanted to show people there is life after disability. Just get out there and do stuff.
‘‘We only have one life.’’
Glass was ‘‘proud’’ to be the first blind person to complete the gruelling ride.
But his answer to whether or not he would do it again was a resounding ‘‘no’’.
‘‘Once you’ve done something, you’ve got to try and do something else.’’
The hereditary disease retinitis pigmentosa saw Glass’ eyesight start deteriorating about six years ago.
‘‘All I see is white during the day and black during the night.’’
The journey was rough with about 30 per cent of it off-road, and the hardest stretch through the Whanganui River in the North Island – but Glass had a ‘‘great’’ partner pedalling ahead of him.
‘‘It’s not all about me. I have a lot of confidence in Russell. He’s just one of those blokes where we can build our confidence up.’’
Glass met Shanks about 10 years ago, and had been cycling together for three.
‘‘We clicked straight away. We just get on and enjoy cycling.’’
Shanks, who also completed the ride in 2016 in an impressive 11 days, had his own disability to grapple with.
The 56-year-old suffered a brain injury after falling 150m while climbing a mountain 20 years ago. He still experienced tiredness and forgetfulness.
Glass said the 21-day ride marked the longest he had been away from his sixyear-old guide dog, Drew.
‘‘She was a bit strange when I came back. It was as if she was saying, ‘Where have you been?’
‘‘She’s back to normal now.’’ Glass wanted to thank those who helped raise the more than $6000 needed to complete the journey.