Walking and cycling with visually impaired people

Imagine: you feel the wind on your face, the sunlight on your skin, you hear the distant jingle of a bicycle bell. But you see nothing. Yet you move confidently through the landscape. Not alone, but together. Welcome to Cormeta – the sports club for over fifty years where blind and partially sighted people, and sighted volunteers, cycle, walk, and swim together. Where every step or pedal stroke is about connection, trust, and fun. 

At the heart of this unique community is Maria Oktay, originally from Turkey. She was born sighted, but an infection took the light from her eyes around the age of three. She has been living in Amsterdam for some time now with her partner, Frank. Frank is partially sighted, but not blind. Together, they repeatedly emphasize, they enjoy life. They walk a lot—”we walk a tram line,” travel by train, and visit museums. But, they also emphasize this strongly, they do many things independently. Maria has just completed two cycling holidays.

Sports with a mission

Together they share a passion for exercise. “We just want to be among people and live a healthy lifestyle, with lots of exercise.” Cormeta plays an important role in this. Maria started swimming and walking in the mid-1980s. Later, she added cycling. In all these activities, the visually impaired members are accompanied by sighted volunteers. During walking and cycling, the guidance is always one-on-one. Walkers hold hands or are connected, for example, with a figure-eight, a cord connecting their wrists. Cycling is done on tandems, with the sighted person riding “in front” and the visually impaired “riding behind.”

Making couples

Since April 1, 2025, shortly after her retirement, Maria has been coordinating participants in the walking and cycling events. This means she approaches all potential visually impaired participants to join a walk or cycle route someone else has created. Maria receives the walk information by email, which she can then read using her iPhone’s voice function. Interested parties receive the message via WhatsApp.

They then agree on a departure point. For tandem riding, that’s always Amstel Station. The club’s tandems are parked there, in the station’s catacombs.

Volunteers wanted – saddle spots are scarce

The number of walkers and cyclists is growing. There are about ten to fifteen of them every month, so there’s always a need for volunteers. This is now creating a shortage. With a shortage of volunteer bike riders, Frank and Maria are the first to lose out, giving up their saddle spots to members who travel from far away. That’s a shame, because they really enjoy the rides: “The best part is just being together, outside in the sunshine, having a good time. Where exactly we go doesn’t really matter.”

An association that keeps moving

Coordinating the activities, including all the contact with volunteers and members, also gives Maria and Frank great satisfaction. It’s wonderful that they always manage to form pairs, making it a day of enjoyment for both the visually impaired members and the sighted volunteers. Maria and Frank plan to remain active in (and around) Cormeta for a long time to come. They hope to receive help from many volunteers who want to join them for a day of cycling or walking.

Would you like to join us for a bike ride or walk?

Only good eyesight and a good mood are required for this volunteer work at Cormeta. For road safety reasons, it’s helpful if you speak reasonable Dutch.
Feel free to come and try it out. You can register here. Need more information first? Call Mirjam van Wijk at 020-6475241 or email info@cormeta.nl.

Looking for other volunteer work?

We’re happy to help you get started! There’s always volunteer work to suit your interests and lifestyle. At twenty locations in Amsterdam, you can schedule a personal consultation with free, personalized advice . Prefer to search yourself? Our online job board lists over 1,000 volunteer openings . You can easily filter by your preferences and respond directly to a call from a community organization.

Text: Piet Renooy
Photos: Kitty de Jong