Thousands of cyclists ride El Tour De Tucson

TUCSON – About 7,000 bicyclists rode in El Tour De Tucson Saturday.

Tom Perez is a blind veteran. He rode on a tandem bike with a teammate.

“Basically, it’s a lot of communication between the stoker, who is me, and the pilot, captain, who is in the front,” Perez said. “They’re my vision. They do all the shifting. They do all the braking. They do all the safety to have a good bike ride.”

Perez won 1st place in the 40-mile tandem event.

“Just great to be on a bike,” he said. “I used to ride mountain bike before I lost my…