[This is mostly me talking about my new/first wheelchair and the pet bike trailer that I hook on the back, rather than an adventure recap. There will be pics, but you might find it boring if you’re not interested in accessibility. Which sounds like a character failing on your part. An undesirable personality trait. Something. We will return to our regularly scheduled adventures in the next post.]
The last time I was out camping (remember how I had the ugliest site in the campground?) I had just ordered my first electric wheelchair. It was a big purchase, but by combining a major sale with an influencer’s discount code, I was able to save $460 off of an already reasonably priced chair.
I ordered the OAS Air Pro. She’s lightweight, coming in at 33 pounds without her battery, and she folds flat for travel. I used to be super strong, so it was weird having to have weight as a consideration, but feats of strength now really wear me out and can get my heart rate and blood pressure up, so having something that can be reasonably easily lifted in and out of Majel was a priority.
I’d worked with their customer service to try to make sure that the chair I’d selected would fit me because I couldn’t find any mention of height and weight for any of the people who had posted videos of themselves in the chair. I get that that can be a sensitive topic for some people, but it’s pretty important in this case. I was well within the stated weight limit for the chair, but had no idea if I’d be too tall for it at 5’9” (175cm.) Most of the people I saw using it appeared incredibly petite. Thankfully, I fit in her just fine, though I did add some thick cushions to the arms so that I can actually lean on them, as you’d need a torso several inches shorter than mine for your arms to rest naturally.
I’ve named her “Yunnie”, because she has a raised text logo that says “Call of Oasis.” If you were in the Seattle U-District back in the mid-2000s to maybe early 2010s, you might remember Yunnie, the bubble tea shop across the Ave from Oasis, which was a decent but inferior bubble tea place that we only went to on Sundays when Yunnie was closed. Yunnie was one of our college hang out spots/watering holes. They were sadly eventually bought out and completely neutered (browns/beige, inferior drinks, etc), but back when we used to frequent it it had cheap mismatched IKEA couches of dubious cleanliness that they eventually started buying slip covers for, bright, multi-coloured walls (no two the same,) a large wall collage of photos of customers, and the best rose icey with tapioca and lychee I’ve ever had. It was an institution.
I took her out for my first walk in the neighbourhood in years. I just wasn’t worth it to burn myself out and trigger a crash and PEM just to wander through suburbia, so I’d basically been restricted to the house and yard. Our neighbourhood isn’t exactly super interesting, but I had SO MUCH FUN zooming around. Like real life Mario Kart. The kids came along, too, in the big square adventure backpack, hooked on the back of the wheelchair. It was still tiring, but in a much more manageable sort of way. I wish I could go out every single day, it’s that much fun. I call it “zoom zoom” for the kids, like that car commercial from the early 2000s.
I was so amped about being able to take the kids on outings again, which is the main reason that I bought Yunnie. One thing that I did NOT expect was that I’d finally be able to use the bike trailer I bought back in 2020 right before I moved back in with the kids’ grandma. I’d initially anticipated taking them on regular bike rides around the neighbourhood, over on the Burke Gilman trail, etc. Until the day after the move when I woke up physically disabled. Cue several years of trying to figure out what was wrong with me.
I’d recently begun thinking that I should consider selling or at least rehoming the bike trailer, because it was taking up quite a bit of space in our small, single car garage. It is highly unlikely that I will ever ride a bike again, so I was sort of keeping it around for no reason, except that I was bummed that I’d never been able to use it even once.
While I was waiting for my new wheelchair to be restocked and shipped, I got to thinking. A bicycle has wheels. A wheelchair also has wheels. I wondered if there was a way for me to attach the bike trailer to the wheelchair. I couldn’t find any good shots of the back of the wheelchair, so it was hard to make definite plans. I figured I’d take a look once it arrived, see if I had any hardware that would work, and maybe pop to the hardware store.
Imagine my delight upon realizing that I would be able to directly attach the bike trailer to my wheelchair! It was almost as though they’d been designed to be together. I wrapped Yunnie’s frame with some vet wrap to protect it from getting scratched, and we were good to go!
Since the trailer sits on two wheels, it pivots easily and stays right with my wheelchair. It’s stable, and a nice size for the kids, and the back wall is solid, not mesh, so they have a little privacy if they want it. Since I am who I am, I’ve decorated it with patches, an “Adventure Cat Onboard” sign, and a tiny Washington state license plate that reads “NCC-1701” (iykyk.). The kids LOVED playing and sleeping in the trailer while I had it in the house so I could sew on the patches.
I’ve also been customizing Yunnie to be even more perfect. I got a Jansport adaptable bag (black, because they were out of stock on any good colours or fun prints) to go on one of the arm rests and covered it in patches and pins. I used to wear all sorts of different pins on my denim jacket pockets, but since I don’t dress like that anymore they’ve just been sitting unused in my grandma’s old jewelry box. They’ve all got locking pin backs on them, so they were good to go for this purpose.
I managed to find a little bag for the back that is also in a monstera print (maybe someday Jansport will have this print for their adaptable bags,) so everything is very well coordinated. I got a plain black cup holder because I couldn’t find one in white, and when it arrived I found that the clamp to attach it to the frame is actually a little chompy dinosaur head! It’s so cute.
One completely frivolous and absolutely silly thing that I bought was a new joystick knob. It’s a little 3D printed cat! Somehow both completely unnecessary and absolutely necessary at the same time.
I also bought a cheap office chair cover (shout out to Rev. Kate Harmon Siberine over on Instagram and Tiktok for the idea!) with monstera leaf print to go over the black cushions. I had to modify it slightly because the back didn’t need to be so tall and also it needed cutouts so that I could still attach things to the frame. It ended up working pretty well! It doesn’t fit quite as well since I got a new back rest cushion, but it’s fine.
Speaking of cushions, as someone who very happily owns a Hest camp mattress, I knew immediately that I wanted the Hest seat cushion for Yunnie. I actually got it for free by using my dividend, AND I got 20% off with a coupon! Just like the mattress, it’s SO COMFORTABLE. Plus, the straps that are designed to keep it rolled up worked perfectly to hook it to Yunnie. 10/10 wheelchair cushion.
For my back I just got a cheap $20 backrest for office chairs/car seats. It’s got a fairly deep lumbar area, which actually creates a slightly reclined back, which is perfect because I am designed to only exist horizontally. Someday I’d like to have a reclining powerchair, but having something lightweight and affordable was my priority this time around. The only drawback is that it effectively shortens the seat, which isn’t super ideal but I can live with it.
One thing that I’ve realized since I started going on walks with the kids using our new Yunnie & the Bike Trailer set up is that I SUCK at filming the kids when they’re behind me and I’m driving Yunnie. And you guys know how much I love filming and taking pictures of my kids. Thankfully, I still had lots of dividend left, so I went and bought the cheapest GoPro for free (and somehow with the same 20% off coupon??? The retail gods have truly blessed me.) It’s been a rousing success if you ignore how the first one had a faulty touch screen out of the box and how GoPro has atrocious AI customer service. Thankfully, I was able to return it to the store for one that works! I was able to get a super cheap, stretchy, rubbery mount for it that attaches to Yunnie’s frame, and now I can film my kids to my heart’s content. It’s so fun watching back over the footage to see the kids getting excited about everything around them.
I’m so excited to be getting back into taking the kids hiking, even if what we’re considering hiking has had to drastically change. You can call it “going for a nature walk.” That’s fine. But in my mind we’ll be hiking again.
Camp Like Noodle 