[Sportsandrec] Guides, Recent Topics

[Jennifer Boylan]

Ron,
You make the tandem sound inviting!  Our local blind center has two bikes
and two helmets (still shrink-wrapped!)  Two members of my beepball team
wanted to ride these in a 'pedaling paths to independence' fundraiser the
center is having in February.  Our O&M instructor teaches spin and aerobics
classes and belongs to a local cycling club, so we're pretty lucky on the
connection there.  She said she has two pilots for us but now I'm getting
worried!  I'm not too worried about my fitness for the ride, but it doesn't
sound like we should have our first tandem experience at the starting line.
Thank you for the cues about paying attention to breathing and tension in
the chain.  Does the bike have to be a certain size to fit the rider?  Can
you hear each other fairly well or are there some other, non-verbal signals
you use?  Thanks for sharing your expertise!  Thanks to all for the tips on
seeking pilots/guides.
Stacy,
Great kayak anecdote!  I can't wait to share it with my friends.  Way to go!
Carly, Ashley, Joe,
I took a tai-bo class for about 2 months a few years back.  I didn't feel as
bad taking up some of the instructor's time, since I was paying him
directly, but I definitely didn't like to take away from the rest of the
class.  He would show me moves before and after class and on the breaks.  I
tried to have quick, specific questions for him to limit my monopoly on his
time.  It didn't bother me much to be punching left when everyone else was
going right as long as we didn't connect!  It was distracting to others,
though.  I tried to stay up front so I could hear everything, and the
instructor tried to be more descriptive than he usually was.  I had most of
it memorized by the time I stopped going, but could do the same workout at
home with better music!  The punching/kicking workouts with live targets
always made me nervous, and I didn't participate in that as much.  I was
afraid I'd miss the target and hit the human, or forget that I was aiming
for the knee instead of the groin.  I certainly tested their reeflexes a
time or too.  It was an experience, but I find the individual activities
much more rewarding and less stressful than trying to blend into a
constantly moving group.
jennifer