Capt Haddock, thanks for the link to bicyclingblind - I'm going to look into that further. I did some rides years ago with some visually-impaired people and really enjoyed it. And, uh, love the username!
Alex your model intriguing to me. I'm not aware of any other/similar org's in other countries but will keep my ears open. The next several weeks of life over here are very busy but at some point near the end of the summer I'd like to touch base and learn a lil bit more about it.
Again thanks, best of luck, and will be in touch,
Chris