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Adaptive Cycling: Handcycles, Amputee Adaptation, Visual Impairment, and Other Needs Have a need for adaptive equipment to ride to compensate for a disability or loss of limb or function? This area is for discussion among those of us in the cycling world that are coming back from traumatic circumstances and tell the world, "No, you are not going to beat me down!"

Blind left eye

Old 07-24-21, 02:46 AM
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ilovehelmets
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Blind left eye

Of all disabilities this one is quite manageable for the most part. The main difficulty i have is looking over my left shoulder, especially when the bridge of my cycling glasses are in the way…

anyone have good solutions or any general advice?
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Old 07-31-21, 11:08 AM
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"10Wheels" posted a picture of his method using mirrored sunglasses lenses fixed to the back of his cycle gloves. It works. I use that method now. Do remember this, if you cannot get a good feeling of the space behind you, ya better stop and take the time to turn and look around. There could be something really bad on your six...
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Old 07-31-21, 12:39 PM
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I use Varia radar but I have also used a wrist mirror, too. The wrist mirror works well. I make mine from a cheap bar end mirror. I pop the mirror out of the holder and put Velcro on the back which I then attach to any kind of wrist strap.

With the radar, I still stop if there is even a smidgen of doubt before turning left.
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Old 07-31-21, 10:16 PM
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I have a condition called amblyopia. Oddly, peripheral vision is as good as the right eye but central vision is canceled by the brain to prevent double vision. Depth perception is an issue but the brain is remarkable and half-sighted people usually can compensate quite nicely. I mount a mirror on my left handlebar and angle it so my good eye can use it. The wrist mirror with Velcro is interesting; I may try that.

Amblyopia - Wikipedia
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Old 08-07-21, 12:27 AM
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Great suggestions all. Ended up getting a drop bar mirror and really love it.
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Old 09-22-21, 05:09 PM
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Hi, I’m Emory I’m new to the forum. I have very little peripheral vision. I glad there are others like me that want to ride. I want to purchase an ebike,some family members dont want to I like adventures and independence.
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Old 07-23-22, 06:16 PM
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Hey, here's a thread I can really relate to. I was born with severe amblyopia, plus badly crossed eyes, and they did surgery twice to try to straighten things out (when I was 2 & 3). This was back in the early '60s, so things were still pretty primitive in eye treatment, compared to today. Basically, I've been around 80-90% (how do you measure that, lol) blind in my left eye, all my life. But at least I didn't get an involuntary lobotomy, lol. 😁😉

I have the same problem, it's tough to check traffic behind me. I really like the idea of glove-mounted mirrors, but I almost never wear gloves. 🙄 I've thought about a fork-mounted mirror, but haven't got serious about it yet. If anyone wants to borrow that idea, feel free. 🙂

BTW, if there's any doubt at all, I stop & look over my shoulder. 👍
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Old 07-31-22, 08:28 AM
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Originally Posted by stardognine
Hey, here's a thread I can really relate to. I was born with severe amblyopia, plus badly crossed eyes, and they did surgery twice to try to straighten things out (when I was 2 & 3). This was back in the early '60s, so things were still pretty primitive in eye treatment, compared to today. Basically, I've been around 80-90% (how do you measure that, lol) blind in my left eye, all my life. But at least I didn't get an involuntary lobotomy, lol. 😁😉

I have the same problem, it's tough to check traffic behind me. I really like the idea of glove-mounted mirrors, but I almost never wear gloves. 🙄 I've thought about a fork-mounted mirror, but haven't got serious about it yet. If anyone wants to borrow that idea, feel free. 🙂

BTW, if there's any doubt at all, I stop & look over my shoulder. 👍
Have the same problem. My field of view doesn't suffer. My weak eye picks up where my big nose blocks the view from my master eye. Next to nothing for depth perception though. I can compensate fairly well sober. Totaled four cars and three motorcycles before I quit drinking. That was over thirty years ago so I must be doing something right.
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Old 08-04-22, 11:18 AM
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I don't use this myself, but I know cycling instructors who strongly recommend this mirror
https://www.efficientvelo.com/home/safezone
It's large, mounts on helmet. For people with visual impairments, send email to the manufacturer. You can get extra lengths of the flexy mount arm thingy.
Be sure to mention why you are requesting extra lengths - the manufacturer does provide advice.
Someone in a forum who was blind in left eye used extra lengths to mount this mirror so that he/she could use right eye to look behind left shoulder.
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Old 08-21-22, 04:49 PM
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Originally Posted by JoeKahno
Have the same problem. My field of view doesn't suffer. My weak eye picks up where my big nose blocks the view from my master eye. Next to nothing for depth perception though. I can compensate fairly well sober. Totaled four cars and three motorcycles before I quit drinking. That was over thirty years ago so I must be doing something right.
I hear ya. 😉 Besides my bad eyes, I came from a pretty dysfunctional family. I started drinking around 12, and also started driving around then. I finally wised up, and quit driving at 22, but didn't quit drinking until I was 38. 🙄 But we're among the lucky ones, some folks can't or won't quit drinking. 😟

Dang, I just realized, on 9/18/22, I'll have 30 years too. 😲 Where does the time go? 😉
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Old 08-21-22, 05:08 PM
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Originally Posted by stardognine
I hear ya. 😉 Besides my bad eyes, I came from a pretty dysfunctional family. I started drinking around 12, and also started driving around then. I finally wised up, and quit driving at 22, but didn't quit drinking until I was 38. 🙄 But we're among the lucky ones, some folks can't or won't quit drinking. 😟

Dang, I just realized, on 9/18/22, I'll have 30 years too. 😲 Where does the time go? 😉
I grew up in Wisconsin. There's a reason they have a baseball team called the Brewers. I had my first beer when I was tall enough to peek over the edge of the kitchen table and ask what was in the brown bottles. By the time I was thirty my drinker wore out. Upside is that while I was playing with other chemicals in my teens and twenties I already had my primary addiction nailed down solid. When I hung it up I only had one chemical to quit. To this day Wisconsin technically doesn't have a minimum drinking age. As long as you're being served by a parent or guardian they can put Jack Daniels in a baby bottle and while it might get them charged with child abuse it's not underage drinking.
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Old 09-01-22, 08:18 PM
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And another thing, how do you guys do at shaving? 🙄 I normally just wear a full beard, because I can't trim or shave worth a darn, lol. Things just always seem a bit lopsided or uneven. Every once in awhile, I have to just shave the whole mess off, and start over. This time around, I shaved on the 31st of August, so it'll be easy to remember when I started a fresh beard. Like that means anything. 😉
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Old 09-01-22, 08:28 PM
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Originally Posted by JoeKahno
I had my first beer when I was tall enough to peek over the edge of the kitchen table and ask what was in the brown bottles.
Lightweight!!! 😁😉 My Grampa Krupa was a full-blooded Pole, and Gramma was half Pole & half Welsh. When us grandkids were teething, they'd just dip a finger in the vodka glass, and rub it on our gums. 🙂

I figure my mother's side of the family is to blame, for my alcohol problems. A good Pole has no problems with alcohol. 😉
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Old 09-07-22, 02:41 AM
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Originally Posted by stardognine
Lightweight!!! 😁😉 My Grampa Krupa was a full-blooded Pole, and Gramma was half Pole & half Welsh. When us grandkids were teething, they'd just dip a finger in the vodka glass, and rub it on our gums. 🙂

I figure my mother's side of the family is to blame, for my alcohol problems. A good Pole has no problems with alcohol. 😉
Wisconsin had several waves of immigrants, predominantly a different ethnicity for each. First came the Poles and Germans, then the Russians and Dutch, followed by the Swedes and Norwegians. Honestly, by the third generation of cultural blending I'm amazed that there was still a viable liver anywhere in the state. My mom's side of the family was from the south east, blue ridge and smokey mountains, mostly Scottish, Irish and Cherokee. If ancestry is an indicator for alcoholism I was born looking for a place to pass out.
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Old 11-07-22, 01:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Ray9
I have a condition called amblyopia. Oddly, peripheral vision is as good as the right eye but central vision is canceled by the brain to prevent double vision. Depth perception is an issue but the brain is remarkable and half-sighted people usually can compensate quite nicely. I mount a mirror on my left handlebar and angle it so my good eye can use it. The wrist mirror with Velcro is interesting; I may try that.

Amblyopia - Wikipedia
I also have this condition. Soon I will need cataract surgery on my good eye. I don't know what to expect. Unfortunately it is 70 years too late to correct the problem.
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Old 11-07-22, 05:17 AM
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Originally Posted by daniell
I also have this condition. Soon I will need cataract surgery on my good eye. I don't know what to expect. Unfortunately it is 70 years too late to correct the problem.
Actually it may not be too late. A couple decades ago there was a clinic in Florida doing trials on an experimental technique. I don't recall all the details but their research showed that in cases where the master eye was lost completely later in life there was roughly an even money chance the weak eye would regain something close to full function. A bandage or eye patch wasn't good enough. The brain had to get the message that the strong eye was *gone*. In the article I read they were getting positive results by inserting a slow release anesthetic pellet behind the good eye adjacent to the optic nerve, effectively simulating loss of the eye for several weeks.

I didn't pursue it any further because I was self employed at the time, couldn't afford to take the time off and had no interest in risking possible permanent damage to my primary eye. However, it's something I've kept in mind in case my master eye is ever badly injured. I'd certainly consider having an eye that has lost most of it's function removed if there was any possibility the remaining eye would come back online.
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Old 11-07-22, 05:40 AM
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Originally Posted by stardognine
And another thing, how do you guys do at shaving? 🙄 I normally just wear a full beard, because I can't trim or shave worth a darn, lol. Things just always seem a bit lopsided or uneven. Every once in awhile, I have to just shave the whole mess off, and start over. This time around, I shaved on the 31st of August, so it'll be easy to remember when I started a fresh beard. Like that means anything. 😉
I have a long learning curve for anything requiring manual dexterity. I got so fed up with razor manufacturers "improving" their product to the point where I had to learn how to use it again I finally went retro. I got myself an antique Schick Krona double edge safety razor. At first it was like trying to scrape my face with a finely honed golf club. Now it's just my razor and it just works. Several companies still make that style and blades are available anywhere on the planet. BTW, safety is relative, there is enough of a gap between the blade and guard you can do some serious face planing if you're not careful. Compared to what it replaced, four inches of naked high carbon steel, it's a "safety razor".

(I also bought a banjo during the covid lock down. I don't ever expect to become proficient. I'll be spending at least a small piece of each day annoying the neighbors dog.)
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Old 11-07-22, 06:56 AM
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Originally Posted by JoeKahno
Actually it may not be too late. A couple decades ago there was a clinic in Florida doing trials on an experimental technique. I don't recall all the details but their research showed that in cases where the master eye was lost completely later in life there was roughly an even money chance the weak eye would regain something close to full function. A bandage or eye patch wasn't good enough. The brain had to get the message that the strong eye was *gone*. In the article I read they were getting positive results by inserting a slow release anesthetic pellet behind the good eye adjacent to the optic nerve, effectively simulating loss of the eye for several weeks.

I didn't pursue it any further because I was self employed at the time, couldn't afford to take the time off and had no interest in risking possible permanent damage to my primary eye. However, it's something I've kept in mind in case my master eye is ever badly injured. I'd certainly consider having an eye that has lost most of it's function removed if there was any possibility the remaining eye would come back online.
Thanks for your informative reply. I got through life for 76 years so I will just hang on. If I cover the good eye I can walk around with the bad eye. I can read if it is very close. The opthalmologist told me that if he corrects my bad eye too much, I will see double. The brain won't accept both images. I don't know what will happen after cataract surgery. My bad luck. The larger cataract is in my good eye. The doctor said that cataract surgery may only help my bad eye very little. I have to return to the doctor in six months. I may need the surgery then. He slightly changed my prescription.
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Old 11-07-22, 08:43 AM
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Originally Posted by ilovehelmets
Of all disabilities this one is quite manageable for the most part. The main difficulty i have is looking over my left shoulder, especially when the bridge of my cycling glasses are in the way…

anyone have good solutions or any general advice?
Check out Polarity Therapy and see if a session or two helps your riding.

https://polaritytherapy.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Ferris
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Old 11-07-22, 08:51 AM
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Lost 60% movement in My Left Eye from my 16 MPH Head Crash.
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Old 11-14-22, 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Lost 60% movement in My Left Eye from my 16 MPH Head Crash.
This looks like a great idea, alright. 👍
The only thing that I'd be worried about, is people behind you, mistakenly thinking that you're signaling a right turn, and trying to pass you while you're still trying to go straight. 🤔

Hopefully, I'm just overthinking there a bit, but be careful of that. ✌️
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Old 12-21-22, 08:16 AM
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Originally Posted by stardognine
This looks like a great idea, alright. 👍
The only thing that I'd be worried about, is people behind you, mistakenly thinking that you're signaling a right turn, and trying to pass you while you're still trying to go straight. 🤔

Hopefully, I'm just overthinking there a bit, but be careful of that. ✌️
wow such a great invention
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Old 01-16-23, 10:00 AM
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Good info
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