Garrett Rush Miller and his family have a message for the world: "Who says blind kids can't ride bikes?"

Sight isn't required to savor the tingling rush of cool air colliding with a sweaty brow, or singular sensation of spring's first kiss of sunshine upon winter-whitened legs and arms.

And sight isn't required to take in the cheers and applause of spectators at the finish line of a triathlon.

That's just what 6-year-old Garrett and his dad, Eric Rush Miller, did together on June 24 - a year to the day after surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor left Garrett legally blind.

Still undergoing chemotherapy every six weeks until September, Garrett started riding a specially designed tandem bike just after Christmas.

A Denver store that sells only items for the blind already had helped the family equip their Pueblo home with computers and other devices to help Garrett read, watch TV and enjoy numerous other activities.

The tandem bike, which allows Garrett to pedal along on the back seat with older brother Ryan or Dad as the "pilot" out front, has brought fun and innocence back into a childhood fraught with too many grown-up worries and fears.

After a chance encounter last winter with Matt King, a blind Paralympic tandem cyclist, and several other members of the U.S. Paralympic and Olympic teams, Rush Miller said he got the idea of trying a triathlon with Garrett.

Although he's competed in many such events alone, Rush Miller wasn't sure if his idea could be translated from dream to reality.

With the help of Colorado Springs firefighter Kathleen MacLaren - a gold medal swimmer at the World Police and Firefighter Games last year - and her colleagues at Station 4, the two experienced the thrill of their lives last Sunday along with 600 other entrants in the Cheyenne Mountain Triathlon.

Rush Miller said MacLaren and company spent weeks trying to borrow a suitable raft for Garrett to ride in as she pulled him during the swimming portion of the triathlon. When they couldn't find what they were looking for, they bought one.

Then came the laborious design of a harness and other devices that would prevent the raft from dragging in the water, and a final test under floodlights, using a hefty lieutenant as the guinea pig.

Even pulling the extra weight, MacLaren swept past her competitors to take the event.

Garrett and Dad did great in the bike competition, as well, and Garrett squealed with delight as his father pushed him across the finish line in a jogging buggy in the final leg of the event.

Garrett, who had received a waiver from many regular rules of the competition, was named an honorary triathlete. MacLaren also presented him with her gold medal from the world games.

Rush Miller said the experience convinced him that no blind child should be deprived of developing athletic skills - or the simple pleasure of riding a bike.

It also strengthened faith that his family's newest venture - the Rush Miller Foundation - would bring healing to other children and families.

"My vision is someday thousands of kids all over the world will drive out of their worlds of darkness, riding on their own bikes," said Rush Miller, explaining that the foundation's primary purpose will be to purchase tandem bikes for blind children whose families can't afford one.

The cost ranges from $1,500 to $2,000, depending on the child's size and how many special adjustments must be made to the bike, he said.

The foundation was formed in May with at least $6,000 worth of in-kind donations from lawyers, business people and others more familiar with the nonprofit world.

The organization's Web site went online about three weeks ago, and although still "under construction," will offer families worldwide access to the foundation's services and links to other organizations for blind children and athletes. (The site is www.rushmillerfoundation.org)

"We've had more than 400 hits in 13 days, and we have five or six kids on a waiting list already," said Rush Miller, adding that another 20 inquiries are pending completion of applications and certified letters from eye specialists.

He said he received notice last Friday of a $5,000 donation and is awaiting word on several potential grants. Meanwhile, a Denver girl was to accept the first bike given by the group in a ceremony Saturday.

"We're also in contact with most of the tandem bike clubs in the country, and if there's one near a child who gets a bike, we'll put them in touch with the club so the whole family can learn to ride and be brought into a larger cycling family," he said.

With a handful of triathlons yet to run this summer, two other boys playing T-ball, a full-time job as an EMT and father of four, Rush Miller said he still has plenty of time for romantic moonlit hikes to the top of Pikes Peak with his wife Nancy, and other dreams for helping families frayed by cancer.

"That's what I've learned in this past year. You can do so much more than you think you can. Even with all I'm doing now, I know I can do more," he said.

"But the most important thing we're doing is concentrating on living each day to its best. Or, as Thoreau said, ‘sucking the marrow from life.’ "

When I first laid eyes on you
You were all arms and legs
Kicking and reaching;
I gently carried you to your Mommy.

Before you knew how to walk
I carried you up mountains.

But even after walking came easily
I still carried you
When your tiny legs grew tired.

Then the tumor took away your walking
And I carried you
From bed to wheelchair,
And from wheelchair to tandem.
I carried you.

You have worked hard
To walk and run and ride again.

Yesterday we tandem rode
In a triathlon.
You encouraged me;
We carried each other.
And when I wondered
If I had the strength
To finish the race,
You climbed on my back
Wrapping gangly arms and legs around me
In trust and confidence.
And I was honored.
I knew I would carry you
Until we crossed the finish line
Together.

You have a champion’s heart
And I am honored to be your father.
I promise
When you have given all,
And your strength fails,
I will carry you again
My son.

Nancy Miller, June 2001