[blindkid] bike riding

Wed Mar 30 01:10:38 UTC 2011

Thanks Bran and Aaron! We are enjoying ourselves tremendously. 
Marie (mother of Jack, born May 2005)
Check out our blog at http://www.allaccesspasstojack.blogspot.com for glimpses into our busy life with a boy who is busy growing and developing in his own way in his own time

-----Original Message-----
From: "Brandy W" <branlw at sbcglobal.net>
Sender: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:47:11 
To: 'NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,\(for parents of blind children\)'<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Reply-To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,
	\(for parents of blind children\)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blindkid] bike riding

We rode tandem when I was a kid, but just to spite my mom my dad bought me
my own bike. I was in heaven having wanted one my whole life. I had just
enough vision to stay on the sidewalk and avoid most obstacles. I'm not
really sure how I did it now, but I had just a tiny bit more vision and
courage then. Then my mom remarried, and my new step dad was afraid to have
me riding a bike so he took me and my sister out often. Well on the first
trip I road right around a parked car, and my 7 year old sighted sister road
right into the back of it and on the second trip I stopped at a curb and my
sister road right off of it and flattened herself in the road, so my dad
than began to worry about my distracted sister instead of me.

Bran.

Bran

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most
accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."
~Charles W. Eliot, 

Brandy Wojcik  Discovery Toys Educational Consultant and Team leader
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-----Original Message-----
From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Aaron Cannon
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 7:38 PM
To: empwrn at bellsouth.net; NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of
blind children)
Subject: Re: [blindkid] bike riding

Hi Marie.

Your guy is luckier than I was.  My Mother didn't ride, and my Father was
long gone by this time, so I rode independently.  I am not totally sure how
I didn't get creamed.  Nevertheless, I stuck to riding up and down my street
on the sidewalk.  I had some light perception, so I could sometimes (and
sometimes not) kinda' sorta' tell where the sidewalk ended and the grass
began, and if I got it wrong, I only crashed in the grass, so it wasn't a
big deal.  I just had to be cautious the first time, in case there was a
vehicle sticking out past the end of a driveway, or another kids bike that
was left out on the sidewalk.

When I was about 13 or so, my Mom bought a tandem bike, and I was of course
then able to broaden my bike riding horizons a lot.  There was usually
someone sighted willing to act as captain, so I was pretty fortunate in that
regard.

Hope this helps.  I think you're doing the right thing by letting him figure
out what works.

Good luck.

Aaron

On 3/27/11, Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Thanks for the feedback Aaron! Do you mind if I pick your brain?  How 
> did you learn to find curbs, dips, or other obstacles while riding? It 
> kind of seemed to me that Jack may have been trying his hand at a 
> little echolation the other day. He has some vision and I was calling 
> out "curb" then he started making sounds until he got closer and 
> closer and stopped just before the curb. I thought it was cool to 
> watch especially since we never attempted to teach it. Kids have such 
> sharp minds and Jack is definitely an out of the box thinker.
>
> Aaron I would love to hear more about your riding. Did you go off 
> road, stick to your home street, what areas did you find most 
> enjoyable? How could your parents have helped if they'd had the 
> benefit of grown you to give them ideas?
>
>
> Marie (mother of Jack, born May 2005)
> Check out our blog at http://www.allaccesspasstojack.blogspot.com for 
> glimpses into our busy life with a boy who is busy growing and 
> developing in his own way in his own time
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Aaron Cannon <cannona at fireantproductions.com>
> Sender: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org
> Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:43:18
> To: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind 
> children)<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Reply-To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,
> 	\(for parents of blind children\)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] bike riding
>
> Hi Marie.
>
> I'm glad you are teaching him to ride.  I've been blind since birth, 
> and riding a bike was one of my favorite activities growing up.  As 
> for your question, until you find a more permanent option, perhaps you 
> could sing a song while riding.  That way, he gets the constant queue 
> of your voice, but it's not as awkward as having to constantly call 
> out.
>
> Just a thought.
>
> Enjoy your time out there.
>
> Aaron
>
> On 3/25/11, Marie <empwrn at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>> Hello all, life has been crazy busy here so it's been quite a while 
>> since I've posted. One thing we've been up to is bike riding. Jack is 
>> currently riding a standard bike with the pedals removed so it 
>> functions as a balance bike. He can ride with the pedals but lacks 
>> the confidence to do it without us having a hand on his back so we 
>> thought going pedal-less a bit longer would help him grown in 
>> confidence. We are having a great time doing this as a family and our 
>> current system involves us calling out to Jack to follow us or we 
>> ride behind him. I have heard that you can get some kind of clicker 
>> to make a noise that Jack could learn to listen for on our bikes. Can 
>> someone tell me what this thing is actually called and I would love 
>> any other bike riding tips/hints you'd like to provide. Jack is 
>> visually impaired with vision of 20/320 or so in his right eye and 
>> light perception in his left eye. He travels with a cane when he 
>> walks and runs and is still adapting to his lack of depth perception 
>> so any hints you can give on off road riding would be great too. As 
>> of right now, I yell out big bump or KABOOM to let him know an 
>> obstacle or drop off is coming up while riding.
>>
>>
>>
>> Marie (mother of Jack, born May 2005)
>>
>> Check out our blog at http://www.allaccesspasstojack.blogspot.com for 
>> glimpses into our busy life with a boy who is busy growing and 
>> developing in his own way in his own time
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
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