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cosmolinguistOne thing I meant to mention about going swimming in Hathersage was that it was the first time I'd used my swim cap! I've had it more than a year, but it was still in its wrapper until then. I got it after the first time we went outdoor swimming; that was a place that needed you to wear a swim cap (and a float), and you could buy them if you didn't have one. After that, diffrentcolours found that swim caps were one of the things British Blind Sport sell and he got me one. It has a big visual impairment symbol, the half-covered eye, and it says some words to that effect too.
I actually forgot about it when I got in the pool in Hathersage, but I was reminded by it being pretty busy, full of kids and stuff, so I could feel my anxiety creeping up. Because one of my biggest worries when I'm swimming is bumping into people or doing other things that seem asshole-ish but are in fact because I'm blind.
I'm starting to wonder if there's something similar for bikes, because I just got verbally abused for, basically, being slow and careful to get around a puddle because I'm blind. These two lycradudes (thanks to my friend Pine for calling them that, it's exactly what they were, older white guys in swish cycling gear) were not actually affected by me in any way but like they might have nearly had to slow down for one literal second if I hadn't been getting out of their way at the time.
But of course that dude didn't know I was going slowly because I struggle to judge distances, and maybe it wouldn't have made that cyclist any kinder to me (his abuse wasn't specifically ableist but it was gendered so that would've been a problem anyway).
I know there is blind-cycling gear but as far as I know it's all for like tandems and stuff. I worry that if I had a vest or etc that said I'm blind and I was still alone, people might still shout at me, thinking I shouldn't be doing this.
It's the old question again: is visible or invisible disability worse here.
I'm not after advice or sympathy or anything. It's just an example of a tiring situation that happened to me this morning and it's been on my mind since.
diffrentcolours found that swim caps were one of the things British Blind Sport sell and he got me one. It has a big visual impairment symbol, the half-covered eye, and it says some words to that effect too.I actually forgot about it when I got in the pool in Hathersage, but I was reminded by it being pretty busy, full of kids and stuff, so I could feel my anxiety creeping up. Because one of my biggest worries when I'm swimming is bumping into people or doing other things that seem asshole-ish but are in fact because I'm blind.
I'm starting to wonder if there's something similar for bikes, because I just got verbally abused for, basically, being slow and careful to get around a puddle because I'm blind. These two lycradudes (thanks to my friend Pine for calling them that, it's exactly what they were, older white guys in swish cycling gear) were not actually affected by me in any way but like they might have nearly had to slow down for one literal second if I hadn't been getting out of their way at the time.
But of course that dude didn't know I was going slowly because I struggle to judge distances, and maybe it wouldn't have made that cyclist any kinder to me (his abuse wasn't specifically ableist but it was gendered so that would've been a problem anyway).
I know there is blind-cycling gear but as far as I know it's all for like tandems and stuff. I worry that if I had a vest or etc that said I'm blind and I was still alone, people might still shout at me, thinking I shouldn't be doing this.
It's the old question again: is visible or invisible disability worse here.
I'm not after advice or sympathy or anything. It's just an example of a tiring situation that happened to me this morning and it's been on my mind since.