QueerCoyote
granola punk
A good friend today approached me with concerns regarding my traveling plans. I'm finishing up a degree now, but after that I plan on taking my bike to the west coast and just going with the flow, doing some wwoofing, freelance art and modeling, etc.
I have a musculoskeletal condition that causes chronic pain and makes me hyperflexible and prone to subluxations, which is also accompanied by several other conditions that make it hard to keep warm (raynauds) and sometimes cause dizziness or fainting (POTs). That being said, because of the hypermobility I have to keep myself in decent shape or I'm pretty much a subluxating human noodle. I backpack when I can (have to keep in the lightweight range due to dislocating ribs and scoliosis) and can run or bike for longer than your average joe, though I'm not a gym nut by any means.
My main worry about this trip so far has been loneliness, biking is going to be a pretty lonely way to travel. Her big concern is that I weigh 95lbs and am unable to gain weight on top of this, and with food availability not being as reliable as it is when you have a house, fridge, and money is that the increase in physical activity could cause my body weight to plummet and then my other conditions will be exacerbated. This happened a couple years ago and resulted in me being 84lbs with bronchitis and having to drop out of my senior year of college.
That being said I need an escape from all that comes with babylon. I've been working since I was a kid, I'm fed up with my doctors, fed up with feeling like an extremist for making it known that I think the current dominant culture of my society sucks. I'm tired of being isolated to one region, and of not being able to participate in life in a way that feels fulfilling except in small doses. Traveling isn't an automatic answer to that, but the idea of it has been enough that all of my free time is spent researching and thinking of ways to eschew the system without being a homesteader locked to one place or a crust kid. It's the thing dangling from the fishing pole to encourage me to push through tough finances and health long enough to finish this degree.
Any advice, thoughts? Similar experiences traveling with health issues?
I have a musculoskeletal condition that causes chronic pain and makes me hyperflexible and prone to subluxations, which is also accompanied by several other conditions that make it hard to keep warm (raynauds) and sometimes cause dizziness or fainting (POTs). That being said, because of the hypermobility I have to keep myself in decent shape or I'm pretty much a subluxating human noodle. I backpack when I can (have to keep in the lightweight range due to dislocating ribs and scoliosis) and can run or bike for longer than your average joe, though I'm not a gym nut by any means.
My main worry about this trip so far has been loneliness, biking is going to be a pretty lonely way to travel. Her big concern is that I weigh 95lbs and am unable to gain weight on top of this, and with food availability not being as reliable as it is when you have a house, fridge, and money is that the increase in physical activity could cause my body weight to plummet and then my other conditions will be exacerbated. This happened a couple years ago and resulted in me being 84lbs with bronchitis and having to drop out of my senior year of college.
That being said I need an escape from all that comes with babylon. I've been working since I was a kid, I'm fed up with my doctors, fed up with feeling like an extremist for making it known that I think the current dominant culture of my society sucks. I'm tired of being isolated to one region, and of not being able to participate in life in a way that feels fulfilling except in small doses. Traveling isn't an automatic answer to that, but the idea of it has been enough that all of my free time is spent researching and thinking of ways to eschew the system without being a homesteader locked to one place or a crust kid. It's the thing dangling from the fishing pole to encourage me to push through tough finances and health long enough to finish this degree.
Any advice, thoughts? Similar experiences traveling with health issues?