söndag 14 augusti 2016

About time I spilled the beans..

I don't blog very often. But this post is about something very close to my heart which has shaped my years as a road racing cyclist..

I started racing a bit sporadically in 2012 and did my first full season in 2013. When I was a novice cyclist one thing my fellow training partners noticed was that I struggled with group riding etiquette. 'Gabriella is very strong but doesn't seem to grasp riding in a group' and 'She doesn't always point out potholes' were typical comments made. I had no idea why I was finding riding in a group so difficult when others seemed to pick it up very quickly. It was pretty disheartening. I loved bike racing but my future in the sport looked uncertain unless I was able to learn the ins and outs of group riding.

The breaking point came on a training ride in 2013 when I wanted to move up in the group and someone shouted 'I'm on your right!' to which I responded 'Sorry it took a while for me to see you!'. Then it hit me. It was my eyesight. I was born with a condition called Iris Coloboma in my right eye which means you have a hole in the structure of your iris, causing the pupil to become deformed (my close friends and family have seen that I've got a 'cat eye'). I'm nearly blind in the affected eye and extremely sensitive to sunlight. Having only one functional eye also impacts on my depth perception and peripheral vision.

So was I going to let this end my time as a road racing cyclist? Believe me I had some serious doubts (still do at times) but I decided to get in touch with an eye specialist in Glasgow, where I was living at the time, to discuss my issues. I'm really glad I did as got some useful advice on how to approach bunch riding. I gradually started noticing improvements. One typical thing I do is ride as far to the right as I can which means I've got all the action happening on my left side (where I can actually see what's going on!). Another habit I have is to turn my head just a little bit more than what feels comfortable before moving up in the bunch to make sure nobody is on my right.

I may not have progressed as quickly as many other cyclists in road racing but given my circumstances I can honestly say that I've achieved more than I ever thought was possible when I bought my first road bike. I have many weaknesses; I struggle with corners and bunch sprints because I'm always thinking about my eyesight first which causes delays in how I respond to what is happening in the race. Sometimes I have to sit in the wind and waste energy because it's where I can see the best (Yes I've been called an idiot a few times for doing this..).

For many years I wanted to keep this quiet due to fear of what people would think. Fear to be labelled as 'the blind girl'. But it is something so significant to my cycling which has evoked many emotions. I've had top 10s and 15s in UK national level races, came 2nd in three stages at tour of Malta this year. Last weekend I finished a National B men's race in the same bunch as top UK men's teams like Pedal Heaven and NFTO. I've also had days when I wanted to hang up my wheels because of my eyesight. But I'm a much more confident person and cyclist than I was four years ago. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you can't do something because you've got what they consider a 'handicap'. There is no reason at all why I should keep my eye problems a secret as they have been with me my whole life and helped shape the person and cyclist I am today.

Read more about my condition here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coloboma

Thanks for reading guys, hopefully see you on the road soon! :)

Gabby Nordin

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