SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Josh Taylor is legally blind — but he recently completed a tandem bicycle journey across Utah as part of his “worldwide tandem cycle tour to see the world.”
When he was younger, Josh was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) — a rare eye disease that causes the loss of vision over time. There is no known cure for RP, according to the National Eye Institute.
Josh told NewsNation affiliate KTVX that he has always liked being outdoors, but said he felt hopeless after his diagnosis. About a year ago, he got his tandem bike — but before he was able to try out the bike, he went on a trip to Greece.
When he came back, he told his dad that he wanted to use the bike to travel. His father thought he was joking and told him to take some time and think about it — and Josh said he read his scriptures, prayed, and found his answer.
“I have a feeling that I need to go on this tour to help others, and to prove that just ’cause you have a disability does not mean you have a lack of ability,” he said.
Over the past two weeks, Josh embarked on the “Tour de Utah” portion of the “Though Your Eyes World Tour,” which took him from the Utah-Idaho border, through the Beehive State, all the way down to the Utah-Arizona border.
“It’s been a very unique experience for me,” Josh said. “Traveling on a bike, taking the time to kind of meet people and meet the locals has been very much interesting.”
He said learning about the communities on the tour is meaningful to him, and the support from his family also means a lot.
“I could probably never do this on my own,” he said. “That’s why, just the support and all that type of stuff has been so important to me and so memorable.”
Josh said the next step of the tour — which has not yet been fully fleshed out — will likely involve going on portions of the Pacific Coast Trail, which would start in Vancouver, British Columbia.
You can follow along with Josh’s adventures on Facebook, Instagram, and the tour’s website.
“No matter the trials you face — whether it’s blindness or the death of a loved one — you can still push on, you can still enjoy life,” Josh said. “You should never let those trials slow you down and weaken you, even though it will be hard.”
Connor Comeau contributed to this report.