Recent Posts

i finally got my new wheelchair yesterday. really happy about that. no squeaking and it feels great. i tweaked it out and put a camber on it with some washers. yes!

shoot. this trip is looking shaky right now.

so guys, after much anticipation for a TiLite, i decided to get another quickie 2hp instead. here are the reasons why.

1. when you travel, it's easier to be able to fold up a chair versus having to take apart a wheelchair (even if the back wheels are quick release). it's faster and more convenient. thus, i passed up the rigid chair. to be fair, i've never ridden one. but, i checked out rigid chairs on youtube and saw how people got in their cars and it looked time-consuming to me.

2. i did check out TiLite 2GX and Aero X in person. those were my next choices. however, i found to my consternation that you have to take off the seat pads on the chairs and then fold up the chairs.
Aero X was much easier to fold than 2GX. But, the Aero X is still aluminum and still the same weight as the quickie 2hp if you put the nobbie tires and such on.

the TiLite 2GX was incredibly difficult to fold up. i wasn't a fan of having to pull the strap in the middle of the seat. it seems like that strap can bust quick after wear and tear. plus, it took a few good, strong tugs to fold up the chair. out of the question for me. i also wasn't a big fan of sort of beds that the cross-bars of the seats. the seat bars sat between the frames instead of on top.

those of the main reasons. i wish the quickie 2hp was lighter but what can you do. anyway, happy to have checked out the TiLites and i think they are great for domestic use and getting around in the US. i don't see them as great chairs, practically, to travel around internationally (getting in and out of cabs, tuk-tuks, etc.) b/c they are so tough to fold up.

anyway, happy to get a new chair soon!

i'll take the few more pounds on the quickie but also take the convenience of the easy fold up mechanism it offers.

my schedule for the summer is confirmed. that is, i'm taking a class and working but i'm definitely going to make time now to go on another trip. hopefully my stocks go back up. :-)

details forthcoming...

matt

what's up guys.
a couple of hours ago, i was getting into my wheelchair - a quickie 2hp - and the seat and crossbar frame actually broke. that's never happened before. sure, the joints get loose, screws strip, footrests loosen and don't ever straighten again, etc. but the frame? wow! i've attached a pic of it.

anyway, i faxed in a request to a medical supply broker for aetna a couple of weeks ago for a new tilite titanium chair - 5/14/10 to be exact. i haven't heard back.  i have an old chair on its last legs that i'm using now.

keeping my fingers crossed. i attached a pic of the broken frame on my wheelchair.



matt

hey guys,
so i finished up school for the semester and have a week off till summer classes begin. glad about that! now i have a bit of time to update this site.

a question came up about how to handle sitting for long flights. if you're like me and the person who asked me, you have a hard time sitting for long periods of time because, simply, sitting in any chair and position for more than 30 minutes hurts your butt. i myself barely have any meat in the rear end area. this is compounded with not being able to bend my back. i had severe scoliosis and had corrective surgery when i was 14. i have two metal rods fused to my spine. this prevents me from being able to bend my back. consequently, i constantly have to shift when i'm sitting in any chair. i get really uncomfortable in movie theaters, let alone on long flights in a plane. so, here are a couple of things i do for very long flights (more than 4 hours and more like 15 hours).

1. always sit in the back of the plane - last row in the center aisle seats. most people don't want to sit in the back. i usually am able to have a seat or two extra next to me and i can then lay out.
2. let the flight attendants know that. ask them if it's possible to move someone if they are sitting next to you in the back before all the people board.
3. i use the plane pillows and sit on them - not directly under the butt, however. slightly near it under the thighs.
4. i lean forward, back, sideways, etc.
5. if you have a cushion - inflated donut - or something like that, bring that on the plane w/ you!

matt

[Some Travel Section Additions -]

hey guys,
let's do this thang. make 2010 our year!

Some Travel Section Additions -
really happy to announce that two sections of Bali - South Bali and Ubud, Bali - have been added. they are pretty in depth and there are a couple of videos to accompany them, including Bali highlights and greedy little monkeys stealing bananas and dribbling coconuts and biting people. yes, biting. don't let their looks fool you; these chewy creatures have some fangs.

also, if you haven't checked them out, see Cebu and Bohol in the Philippines. there's some great diving in those parts.

A Book that Inspires -
my mom told me years ago about a book that i might want to read. i blew it off. but, i did read it about 5 years ago and it blew me away. the guy's story and his adventures knocked the lid right off. the book is an autobiography about John Hockenberry, a paraplegic who becomes a well-known news anchor. the book's called Moving Violations.

i'll be busy in class until may. in the meantime, i'll try to get a couple of other sections up or at least some videos. i have a huge backlog.

be good all and happy travels, 

matt

Hi everyone,
first of all, thank you very much for supporting this site. I hope it's helping my fellow wheelchair travelers.

I am currently pursuing a masters degree so my updates and contributions to Wheel Adventure Travel will be somewhat infrequent. I do have a handful of destinations to add to this site and a host of videos though.

I will continue to work on Wheel Adventure when time permits. I hope you continue to rock and roll on. 

i'm in ubud (pronounced oobood), bali. it's in central bali - about an hour and a half north of south bali.
 
the first day, we had a situation w/ our first hotel. the first two days would've been spent on the first floor. the next two, the second floor up a formiddable flight of stairs. so, our driver took us to another hotel, which turns out to be a much better place anyway. met a french woman - 50s - and her husband. they are staying in a wheelchair accessible room. turns out that the Ubud Inn, which is my hotel, and the 4 Seasons, which will be my hotel of choice in a fews years, are the only accessible hotels.
 
bali's not wheelchair friendly. not at all. but, going to Sanur, Bali tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.
 
first day in ubud, which is the artsy, cultural center of bali, we ventured into the monkey forest. i bought bananas to feed the monkeys. they walk around right in front of you, sit in front of you and not move and if they see bananas or food in your hands, they come after you. literally. some of them are big! i taped a girl who was sitting down and gave a banana to one of the larger monkeys. apparently, she didn't give up the banana in time for this short-tempered monkey. he/she jumped on the girl and bit her arm. her arm was bleeding. i got it on video! youtube!!
 
i was laughing in the video. laughing w/ her. not at her.
 
anyway, seen lots of cultural stuff here like performances and museums. bali women used to go around topless back in the day. that was their culture. some europeans guys found out and then all the european men found out; thus, bali is one of the top destinations in the world. that's just my hunch. anyway, i missed that era. can u believe, everyone dresses up and folks are a bit conservative here.
 
ubud is a quiet town. like stops around 9pm. there's not much to do at night except go to bed. whah!!!!!!
 
it is beautiful here. stunning. we had coffee at the Rice Terrace Cafe where it overlooked a dramatic cliff which has been converted into lush green terraced rice paddies in the middle of a forest.

Yo everyone! I am a certified PADI Open Water scuba diver!

Let me say that I've been a busy puppy the last week or so. The scuba lessons got me tired! I think it was the sun, the breathing from a tank 60 feet below and the physical exertion.

My luggage did not arrive in Bali until this late afternoon (6/21). I've been without a change of clothes, shower or anything for the last few days. I've had to put my hand out and sell massages and rolex watches at one of the sidewalk stands. No one's in the mood to buy.

So glad I got my luggage today! No more sidewalk sales!

I always get a "Konichiwa Sir! Konichiwa" wherever I got.  I'm turning Japanese here. Some local kids even asked to take a picture with me! I collected my 20,000 rupiahs from them.

I've been all over the place. One of the coolest was a quick stop in Manila where we stayed in Ermita/Intramuros. Intramuros is the original part of the city where the first westerners - Spanish - landed. They fortified the city with a wall. Much like the Old City in Chiang Mai, you now have a city within a city. The Spanish presence and influence can be seen everywhere in Intramuros, Manila. It's another city altogether. It's super cool. Outside the gates, there are the usual rugged sidewalks, crazy traffic, tons of motorcycles, trikes and cabs and noise noise noise. Rizal Park and Rizal Shrine are just outside as well.

I'm in Bali right now. In the Kuta/Legian area. It's the hotspot. AND, there are so many frickin tourists here. The streets are narrow and most of the buildings have steps. The Philippines and Thailand are much more wheelchair accessible.

What can you do...I just have to put up w/ some of the inconveniences of Paradise. Actually, I prefer Cebu to Kuta/Bali, which, again, are where the tourists flock to.

I've seen some cool temples here - Tanah Lot, Taman Ayung and a park with a 150 foot statue of Vishnu at Vishnu Kencana Park. We're only here for a few days and then up to Ubud tomorrow.

Alright kids, I'm out.