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About Us
In the summer of 2009, we weren't sure whether we could do it -- that is, ride a tandem bike by ourselves across the country. But we did! (See July 2009.) There were "obstacles," like having to ride through the Mojave Desert through the day in mid-July because Tauru couldn't see at night to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. We felt like we were riding through a convection oven from Palm Springs, CA to Kingman, AZ.
Now that we know we can, we aim to traverse the Americas. Aside from the sheer challenge and the irresistible sense of adventure this provides, we want to take this opportunity to raise awareness for the blind with the hope of inspiring others who have "challenges" and to showcase to the world that people of all abilities can achieve theirs dreams.
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Click here for more of our adventures.
At
Thorong La Pass (17,769 ft) in Nepal in April 2008.
Christi Bruchok
"My vision is hard to describe. I was born with severe myopia and have since lost the vision in my right eye entirely. It's not useful to call myself "nearsighted" or "farsighted" since, while I do wear thick reading glasses (+8), I must hold books and things within sniffing distance of my face. Contacts and glasses simply can't help my distance vision. I often say that my world is like an impressionist's painting: I get the gist, but I can't pick you out in a crowd."
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Tauru Chaw
"I suffer from a hereditary disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa(RP). This means that I have been progressively losing my peripheral vision, so now it is as if I am seeing the world through toilet paper rolls. However, the vision that I do have is really clear, and I have no trouble seeing distances. Unfortunaly, the same photoreceptors that give peripheral vision enable night vision, ...so I am pretty much blind at night."
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How We See
The images below are the best we
could do to illustrate how we see.
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Normal Vision
(Ride Across America 2009)
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Christi's Vision
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How Christi Sees
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Snapshot of How Tauru Sees
(On Denali 2007)
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Tauru's Vision due to
RP
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How Tauru Actually Sees
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View From The Bike
Christi's View as Stoker
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Tauru's View as Captain
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