NZLcyclist

Here comes the call for all cyclists who are visually impaired in some way that hinders their cycling, and it is not remedied by such things as glasses. I'm talking along the lines of the troubles that I am having, being blind in one eye.

At the age of say around 9 i think, I got menningitis (sp?) which decided to swell certain parts of the brain which proceeded to CRUSH my optic nerves. OH THE PAIN! I was in bed for over a week and didnt go to school for a whole day for nearly a month. I am now blind in one eye ( i can see a small strip, but its useless cause I can't focus properly if I use it) and I have learnt to judge distances and speeds etc with just the one good eye.

Today I got to school and went to take my sunglasses off and find that one lense was missing. Don't know how long It had been like that but because it was over the blind eye I hadnt noticed.

Anyone here have visual impairment? What problems do you face? How do you overcome them?

Regards,
Brendon

CycleMagic

I don't have a visual impairment, but work with those that do. I'd be interested in hearing more about how you've compensated for the vision loss. Thanks for sharing.

Prosody

I was temporarily blind in one eye while a detached retina was being repaired--the eye had a gas bubble in it to hold the retina in place. I went about six weeks without driving. I'm amazed at how one can adapt without depth perception; during the time I couldn't see out of the eye I would have been a danger driving a car. I have to be careful to avoid sudden decelaration--no skydiving, bungee jumping or roller coaster riding. I imagine a serious crash, either in a car or on a bike, could also damage an eye. I'm lucky. After retinal detachments in both eyes, glasses can give me pretty good vision.

NZLcyclist

well it took me an age to recover from the illness at first, and then for a long time my vision was like as though there was heavy fog. It finally cleared and I found my left eye was fine, perhaps better to compensate, but my right eye? blah..... it took a long time to be able to judge distances etc. I think it kinda goes like this: with two eyes your mind uses the two images together to judge distance.....2x2D images used together make a 3d image, right? well when you have one eye only, you need to first predict the physical size of the object, and then going by how large it seems in your vision, judge how far away it is etc. Same goes for moving objects.

As for my cycling, I always have to turn to the left to look behind me, and considering we drive on the left here that can be very difficult. It also affects my vision on that side so cars can sneak up on my..... when I am in a bunch of riders I always try to keep to the right hand side so I can see what is happening. But that is also the side used for overtaking.

Brendon <------me being blind

deliriou5

lol... i like the

Texas2Wheeler

I have a severe case of keratoconus -- a deformation of the corneas. Had a cornea transplant in the right eye about 12 years ago. Due to steroid eyedrops I took to assist the corneal graft, I developed cataracts in both eyes and had cataract surgery a couple of years ago. Vision in my left eye, which still has a badly deformed cornea is not very good, even after cataract removal and implant, but not bad enough yet for a transplant.

My vision overall is fair now, but I can't see anything close-up without glasses. Cannot read or really focus on anything with the left eye with or without glasses -- when I read, I do so only with the right eye...

Rev.Chuck

Years ago I trained a couple of guys from the local school for the blind in how to repair lawnmowers. One of them, Ray, had a glass eye and 220/20 vision in his one eye after correction with a contact and glasses. He would show up for work on a moped! He could also call a coin by the sound it made when it hit the ground and hit you with a nut from 30 feet just by listening to you walk across the floor.

The Toninator

there's a guy who races down here that is blind in one and and cant see out of the good eye. They also dont point in the same direction dont know the tech term. he does ok. He'll probably keep riding until he cant see out of the other one, for at least a couple of more months.
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CycleMagic

NZLcyclist: have you considered a mirror for the right side of your bike? you may also be able to rig a small mirror on flexible housing attached to your helmet to help you see traffic on the right a bit easier....just a thought.

Pete Clark

Brendon,

My 20 year-old daughter is blind in one eye. I once told her she should try cycling.

Maybe you should tell me--how does she overcome it?

(Y'all could swap notes.)

NZLcyclist

I have thought about the mirror idea..... I am a roadie, and the vibration would make it impossible to see in it. The roads around here are CRAP! I am managing at this point in time AOK. Just gotta be careful when drafting behind my brother.... he fails to point out obstacles and I can only see the ones coming on the left and I'm lucky I dont have damaged rims after today...found some shocking roads lol

Pete, What eye is your daughter bling in? PM me her email if you want me to email her.

Regards,
Brendon

greywolf

Hi Brendon ,there is a helmet on the market with a built-in mirror, apparently you just glance up to the leading edge of the helmet & you get a panarama back view of the road behind !!There is a website for them ,one of those neat 3D ones you can revolve round but Im buggered if I know were to find it !!