Over the years, we have watched in awe as our friend Chris Smith achieves extraordinary things on and off his bicycle.
15 years ago, Chris was officially classified as “legally blind” due to Stargardt’s Disease, an inherited genetic condition that causes central vision loss. Since that time he has transformed himself into an endurance athlete and rider, completing many epic rides and races including the Pan-Mass Challenge and Leadville Trail 100 MTB race.
But that is not what makes him extraordinary. Instead, it is how he takes on each day as a husband, father, employee, athlete, teammate, coach and friend, with grace, humor and humility. Demonstrating through his deeds and actions that our challenges need not define or limit. He has also been incredibly helpful as we continue to educate ourselves on accessibility on website and beyond.
That is why when Chris signed up for his next epic adventure – The Tour Divide, an 2,700 mile underground race following the continental divide along Adventure Cycling’s Great Divide Mountain Bike Route – to raise money for Foundation Fighting Blindness, we were all in to help.
We started with a logo that needed to work well on social media channels as well as popular bike swag including stickers, patches and water bottles. The final result features a silhouetted bike packing rider against elements of the race which starts on the Canadian border and finishes in New Mexico, as well as a Braille “translation” around the inner border of the logo.
Working within Chris’ existing WordPress site – BlindGuyBiking.com – we applied the new logo and color palette as well as helped organize the content and navigation. As the ride, which begins in June, approaches the site will evolve to include ride, training and fundraising updates as well as live tracking.
We look forward to continuing to support Chris as he takes on this next extraordinary adventure!
