Blind biker has no limits for his motorcycle club
What is so special about this, you ask? Well, the man in question was Jacob Kruger and he is completely blind! He lives by the quote: "There are no limits other than those you apply to yourself."
On July 7, I witnessed something extraordinary at Red Star Raceway. A man did four laps of the track, non-stop and that’s only the start of Jacob’s journey.
From an early age, Jacob was fascinated by two things: computers and bikes. He became a computer programmer, but in November of 2005 he was involved in an accident that severed the nerve between his eyes and brain. When he left the hospital four months later, he was blind.
Using software and modern technology to help him along, he is now able to live a normal life on a similar level to a sighted person.
Jacob’s vision
One of the very first phrases he searched for on the Internet was “blind biker”. He came across the name of Billy Baxter, who in 2003 broke the world land-speed record for a blind person.
He was also the Blind Man on Top Gear driving around the Top Gear track with Clarkson as his navigator. Baxter’s other challenge was to ride around Donnington Park on a motorcycle.
Jacob had a similar plan in mind. Riding in a straight line is easy enough, but Jacob needed a challenge. After riding through some open fields with someone guiding him via a communication system, he decided he wanted to ride around a racetrack.
Jason Wessels from Moto Rentals, Red Star Raceway and Suzuki all came on board. Jacob has always been a Suzuki fan, so it was quite fitting that Suzuki also stepped up. They prepared an SV 650 for him, and so the journey started.
Jacob is a member of the Hell Razors motorcycle club. The morning started with the club taking people with sight and hearing disabilities around the track on bikes. Later this same group of people was taken for another few laps in Suzuki cars.
There was also some track time for kids; part of a “gees” project to get kids on bikes in a safe and controlled environment.
At 14:00, Jacob set off on his quest to ride non-stop for an hour. Ian Howard followed him on a similar bike as his guide.
He was responsible for giving instructions so that Jacob could navigate the track successfully.
All proceeds went to the Guide Dog Association and other organisations assisting people with disabilities. His feat will be submitted for consideration to Guiness World Records, so let’s hope that this ride will be acknowledged for the remarkable feat that it is.
