Here I am again. Bored. Bored. Bored. My common sense is battling with my desires. I am still a snot bubble. Hacking, snotting, I am a beauty to behold. Anyone with common sense would have gone back to bed and pulled the covers over her head.
Wake me up when I am over whatever this nonsense is. Closed until further notice.
How well do you know me by now? I have no common sense! When I was small (and OK, when I was big too), my father would tell me that, for a smart girl, I was awfully dumb. My husband just suggested I not be a horse hiney. I had remarked that maybe, maybe I could use some of this beautiful new snow to go cross-country skiing this afternoon. Punctuated by hacking and coughing, of course.
Fortunately, there is one other person who has less common sense than I do. She is picking me up at 8 am tomorrow so we can get an hour of skiing in before we both have to go to work. I love irrational people!
I also love cross-country skiing. It is excellent, aerobic exercise. After you buy your equipment, it cost virtually nothing to ski. As long as you have snow, many people can just step out their back door and go.
Cheap, accessible and can be done by the visually impaired. Good combination.
Canada has a visually impaired, cross-country skier who has competed not only in the Paralympics but also in the plain, old Olympics. Brian McKeever was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease when he was 19. He lost up to 90% of his vision and, of course, what is left is peripheral.
McKeever skis. Oh, Lord, does he ski. Not only does he ski, he shoots. Aided by his brother as his sighted guide and some fancy technology, the man does OK. He has medaled numerous times in the Paralympics and won a spot on Canada’s able-bodied team. That was without the guide or the technology, by the way.
Simple fact of the matter is I have no more intention to compete than – what? Name something absurd – but if McKeever is doing what he does, why can’t I go out for a spin around the park? Other than the fact I have some disease right now? I think I can!
VisionAware has a list of tips for cross-country skiing with visual impairment. You need to choose an appropriate trail. If you are going cross-country when you cross-country, a GPS is a good idea. Managing glare is always a must and those of you with a significant vision loss need a guide who knows what he is doing and can give quick, informative instructions.
Except for the glare glasses, I really don’t need any of that stuff. I will be in the local park on flat terrain and we cannot really go far. I will do my hour’s loop and consider it time well spent. Good exercise, good environment. Good company. And it can all be had even with low vision. Sweet.