Poll: can you balance on one foot with eyes closed?

[RebornRider]

Many (most?) of you may say "Of course I can stand on one foot with my eyes closed! What a silly question!" Well, I can't. My right ear is deaf due to inner ear and nerve damage from a long-ago accident. It's a bit of a struggle to balance on one foot with my eyes open. The bike related bit of this is that I can't do track stands. I started wondering how many other riders have this defect.

 

[Whitby Chris]

Many (most?) of you may say "Of course I can stand on one foot with my eyes closed! What a silly question!" Well, I can't. My right ear is deaf due to inner ear and nerve damage from a long-ago accident. It's a bit of a struggle to balance on one foot with my eyes open. The bike related bit of this is that I can't do track stands. I started wondering how many other riders have this defect.

Most will say "of course" but I have to admit taking your foot off the floor slowly makes it easier

 

[Pyr0]

I wobble as soon as my eyes are closed.
I had an issue with my left ear as a child and have tinnitus now *shrugs*
I'm also not great at track stands.

 

[Ou812]

I can’t do it, I’ll fall over almost immediately. I can’t even make the turn up my stairs in the dark without almost falling….basically if I take my vision away and have to rely solely on my ears I’m screwed.

I had a pretty severe TBI that left me with lingering side effects and tinnitus was one of them. My left ear is the culprit though, doc told me I was in the early stages of Ménière’s syndrome. I get vertigo from time to time to go along with it, it sucks.

 

[steve_sordy]

I did Pilates for 13 years until the pandemic stopped the classes. Early on, we practiced standing on one leg and then with one eye closed and then with both. We struggled to start with, but the instructor said "blind people can do it, and so can you!" And we did. The key is to tense your core muscles; it works with any balancing task, even track stands.

I can't comment on the effect of ear problems, but I do know that Meniere's is awful as my daughter had it (or similar) for a good while. It is disabling at worst.

 

[Hobo Mikey]

It all depends on how much beer I have drunk.

 

[Beaker2135]

I can, just about, but not for long. I can’t do a track stand either and I corner much better to the left than the right

 

[MountainBoy]

Many (most?) of you may say "Of course I can stand on one foot with my eyes closed! What a silly question!" Well, I can't. My right ear is deaf due to inner ear and nerve damage from a long-ago accident. It's a bit of a struggle to balance on one foot with my eyes open. The bike related bit of this is that I can't do track stands. I started wondering how many other riders have this defect.

Only if I've had about 3-4 beers to stabilize my inner ear!

 

[jjaussie]

I suffer from vertigo and I have just had a stroke which has left me with a weak right side.
I need to practice to successfully stand on the right side for any length of time with my eyes closed
Haven't got back on the bike yet; when that happens, maybe I'll try that with my eyes closed

 

[Stihldog]

I wish I could pin-point my balance issue. Then I could focus more on my “empty the dishwasher” skills.
Had a stroke, likely caused by other medical issues and treatment, about 6 years ago. Left side is compromised and some of my lower right. My hearing on one side may have been affected also.

6 months of hospital bed, body suspensions, wheelchair, walker, walking sticks, and finally a walking cane…then they kicked me out. Another 6 months of physical therapy until I could walk like a drunken sailor. Bought an eMTB and sold all my roadies.

Wtf happened? I could ride. So I bought another eMTB. For the past 5 years I ride almost every day. Black diamond is my occasional limit but I love climbing the rock gardens and descending the technicals.

I still walk like a drunken sailor though. Sometimes I wish I was impaired by alcohol because by noon tomorrow I’d be okay. In the meantime, I’ll keep on climbing.

Besides inner ear balance, do your ankles help with balance?

 

[jjaussie]

it's great that you are riding, even if you're a drunken sailor when you get off. I haven't been game to get on the bike yet.
My vertigo is more vertiginous migraine; presents like vertigo though.
I balance through my toes; they work very hard, especially when I am tired and my natural balance mechanisms are not working very well.
What was your first ride like and did you modify the bike in any way to get you started?
I'm a bit jealous, especially as my wife has started riding my bike

 

[steve_sordy]

I wish I could pin-point my balance issue. Then I could focus more on my “empty the dishwasher” skills.
Had a stroke, likely caused by other medical issues and treatment, about 6 years ago. Left side is compromised and some of my lower right. My hearing on one side may have been affected also.

6 months of hospital bed, body suspensions, wheelchair, walker, walking sticks, and finally a walking cane…then they kicked me out. Another 6 months of physical therapy until I could walk like a drunken sailor. Bought an eMTB and sold all my roadies.

Wtf happened? I could ride. So I bought another eMTB. For the past 5 years I ride almost every day. Black diamond is my occasional limit but I love climbing the rock gardens and descending the technicals.

I still walk like a drunken sailor though. Sometimes I wish I was impaired by alcohol because by noon tomorrow I’d be okay. In the meantime, I’ll keep on climbing.

Besides inner ear balance, do your ankles help with balance?

You can still ride a Black Diamond, with all those problems? Shit! I am (mostly) sound and my limit is basic Blacks!

PS: I am sorry to hear of your past problem; your habilitation route sounds horrendous. But bloody well done!

 

[Stihldog]

I balance through my toes; they work very hard, especially when I am tired and my natural balance mechanisms are not working very well.
What was your first ride like and did you modify the bike in any way to get you started?

Balance through your toes? That’s a really good point. This may give me something to work on. My neurological sensitivity to balance is mostly on my left side, which can be typical for a stroke “winner” like myself. (I’ll explain why I feel like a “stroke winner”).

I believe, in fact I know, we can retrain our neurological abilities if those paths are still available. While I was recovering in the hospital I was occasionally asked “what my goal was?”. There’s many, but one became my personal challenge. Ride my Cervélo road bike again.

On the morning when I returned home, after 6 months in different hospitals, my wife helped me climb onto my Cervélo. She videotaped me as I pushed off on a very slight decline. OMF*****G. I did it. We both got something in our eyes as we embraced.

Over the next few months I became a climbing machine and the mountain in our backyard soon became my next challenge. Bought my first eMTB (Trek Rail 9.7) . Sold all our road and gravel bikes. Bought two more (his/hers) eMTB’s.

I’ve modified my f/s Rail to suit my riding style. Geometry changes and soon upgrades that created as perfect a setup as possible. The most important and effective upgrade was my peddles. Riding flats or clipless was just bad for me. Then I tried magnetic peddles. (Funny story for me…I sat at my coffee table and designed a magnetic peddle and shoe. Then I googled magnetic peddles. Holy cr*p! I ordered a pair.)

Anyways. I call myself a “stroke winner” for a reason. My migraines were intense, debilitating, frequent and extremely painful. I rated this pain between 0-10. A scale that she could understand and convey to the emergency room doctors. My wife knew the cocktail of drugs that I needed immediately for any chance of recovery or survival.

Then I had the stroke. I don’t remember too much of this time but my wife occasionally fills the memory holes for me. But from that point on I’ve never had a single migraine or headache. I felt like a stroke winner. My circle of doctors and Nero specialists diagnosed me with S.M.A.R.T Syndrome. I’m not kidding. Google that. I laughed, but I also welcomed a pain free day/week/month/year/life. I’ll take this stroke any day over a migraine. I’ll happily walk like a drunken sailor and ride my eMTB like it was my last ride. Lol

 

[Stihldog]

You can still ride a Black Diamond, with all those problems? Shit! I am (mostly) sound and my limit is basic Blacks!

PS: I am sorry to hear of your past problem; your habilitation route sounds horrendous. But bloody well done!

Thanks Steve.
I always try to remember that there is someone that is more worse off than me. I think I’m lucky. I think I know what “living one day at a time” means now.

“If both feet hit the floor in the morning …I’ll probably go for a ride” ;Me