Ok, so if i didn't laugh, i'd have to cry?
I find it really interesting, more on a humerous side, the reaction people have when told that I am buying and riding a tandem bike. Not random strangers (well some, but i don't mind them), but the individuals that know me, that know my visual impairment, and it's degenerative nature. I've gotten plenty of reaction for sure, a lot has been supportive, but the funny/sad ones are those that somehowe seem to think of me as dorky, or a faker(withou saying it directly).
They seem to think that becasue i could ride solo for the past 15 years, and that all of a sudden within 6 months after Kona i need to ride tandem; that i'm just being a baby or that i don't REALLY need to do it. HMMM, well, let me borrow the keys to your car then.....we'll get a little demonstration of exactly how much i'm being a "dork" or "faking".... My lower back doesn't seem to think i'm faking, it seems to think the bike crash i had last August due to me not seeing a crack in the road, going 20mph on my bike, flying through the air, slamming into the pavement; is a pretty real indicator that my vision has led me to this point.
I really don't get all that upset, but i do get frustrated, as it is paramount to calling me a liar, or a sissy. If anybody knows me, they know what calling me a sissy, or wuss, or wimp would mean to me....them's fightin' words:)
I have come to a realization in my life that things are going to get tougher, that in my disease, small losses are seen as big losses (when you lose 10 percent of 60 percent, you are not left with much)... I have come to realize too that people in my life who are used to seeing me do lots of things withou much hiccup, or troubles---as i've been able to cope pretty seamlessly---will get quite the shock. Shock? When i show up to a ride on a tandem, to a run or open water swim with a tether, to work, gym, social outing with POKEY (my cane)--will fill you in on that later. I know that i need not feel bad or embarassed, as i've not been hiding this from them; everyone around me knew my situation, but i think they didn't realize the extent of it. SO, i plug away, swallow a bit more of my pride, and whip out POKEY, my tether, my tandem, and i continue to do what i've always set out to do---Prove that anythign is possible with a positive mindset, look for the silver lining, use perspective, and be thankful for what i've got.
POKEY--In Paris i broke out the new cane that i got from the CNIB... I've always had a cane (since i was 17) but never used it, never saw the need to use it...however last year after Kona, i started to practice only a couple times, as social outtings with my other cane... I didn't really like the cane, the noise it made, the way it looked...it did make me feel dorky. Therefore i said to Mindy that if i'm going to "be blind'...then i'm going to try to do it as comfortably as possible... went out and got a new cane, that for cane's sake, is pretty coool.. It is collapsable like tent poles, white with some red on the bottom (as 99% of blind canes are)...has a rolling tip, and is mica pigmented, so it is a bit reflective. In Paris i figured i didn't know anybody, had not worries of embarassement, and used Pokey freely....to my wife's delight, i found it very comfortable and very very helpful (dammit she wins again).... so as with anything in my life, i had to give it a nickname (still up for debate)...you can chime in if you like...options so far:Pokey
The Stick
The Rod
Jabby
If you have any thoughts/suggestion, i'm open for changing it:)
A couple Paris picks....Paris was fun, not the super most awesome place i've ever been, but lots of history and very pretty; just too many pushy people and food wasn't all that fantastic either...
But i had fun, my wife ws happy, a vacation is always nice, and gave me time to not think about triathlon/running etc...for a week at least.
Mindy in Toronto airport--a pre flight snack:) She's thinking "put the F**ing camera down .."
The Eiffel tower isn't THAT big...what's all the fuss about?
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