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Taking back life one mile at a time
Ready to take back my life and cycle 3000 miles in New Zealand
By Anne Poe
I gave up the idea of being able to cycle tour in foreign countries and sold my bike. I could not find a way to resolve my two biggest challenges. First, and most urgent, I was struggling to ride my bike up easy hills at 3000 feet elevation. I could not maintain enough speed to keep from falling over. It broke my spirit to struggle so hard. I was riding a simple loop of six miles around town. I used to ride and average of 60 miles a day when touring.
There was a second dilemma for me: How to get my medicine when traveling in a foreign country. We had already faced enormous frustrations with this since my husband Mike and I spend many months in Mexico. Medicine cannot be shipped to Mexico. The rules and regulations for Mexico create an impossible situation. The only way I am able to get medicine while in Mexico is to find some kind stranger, a friend of a friend, flying down who is willing to bring it with them. Since I am now on Medicare, I can only get my medicine sent from the insurance provider once every 30 days, exactly 30 days. I have to order it, find a “contact” that is coming down within that time period, and then forward it to them before they leave. The process has been stressful and frustrating. Even though we still go to Mexico, I gave up on the idea of ever being able to travel for more than a month to any other country.
Mike and I have always traveled. We are addicted to being on the move, exploring different countries and interacting with different cultures. We have traveled mostly by bicycle in these far off places. The physical challenge of cycle touring energized us and gave more meaning to the journey. Some of our adventures included cycling from Alaska to Idaho, Costa Rica to Peru, Indonesian to China, and around New Zealand. Our last effort, in 2005, we spent four months cycle touring in Australia and Tasmania. I remember thinking this would be our last possible foreign adventure. I knew I had to do something about my Alpha-1 diagnosis made in 2001 and begin treatment. I had been too scared to face the reality of once a week infusions. The diagnosing physician said I would have to go to a clinic to get them. Our lifestyle did not include weekly visits to a clinic!
I lost a lot more lung tissue in those four years of indecision. Although I am an SZ Alpha, which progresses much more slowly than ZZ, it brought me down to the level where I was struggling not to fall over while cycling up those small hills. I finally did more research on Alpha-1 and made contact with the Alpha-1 Foundation. That’s when I learned about my options. They helped me find a specialist and put me in touch with his nurse. She set me straight. I needed treatment, but they could teach me to administer it to myself. That eliminated the need to live near a clinic. A local nurse came to the campground where we were living in our travel trailer in Arizona. She kept coming back until I was comfortable with the self-infusions. I have been treating myself weekly ever since and appreciating beyond measure the freedom it has allowed me to retain.
Still, I had lost heart. How could I ever cycle tour again? The dual dilemma of losing my balance and getting my medicine to foreign countries seemed insurmountable. We kept going to Mexico for the winter, creating a longer list of “friends” for each season. In the summertime, we took up hiking. It was easier to keep a slow pace without the fear of falling over like on a bicycle. We hiked every summer for five years. Each year I got fitter and was able to go further and higher. We started in Utah in the spring at elevations around 4000 to 5000 feet. We worked our way higher and higher until finishing our summer hiking in the Colorado Rockies. Most of the hikes there started at 9000 feet! I was so surprised I was able to hike at such elevations. By the fourth summer, we had decided to turn our love of hiking into a guide book for a scenically rich area that had little published information. The guide book is called, Crested Butte Colorado: 60 Scenic Day Hikes and is now in print and for sale on Amazon.com.
It was such an amazing experience for me to be able to accomplish the hiking necessary to write that book. We hiked about 600 miles in one summer, researching, mapping, and photographing all the time above 9000 feet. One great day in particular, I hiked to 13,000 feet. I knew then that I should never give up on my dreams. We dedicated the book to the Alpha-1 community; we all have dreams; I had read many of the stories published in this Alpha-1 Foundation site. They inspired me to make my best effort pursuing the activities that I enjoyed. I had missed our adventure touring since selling our bicycles. I let fear and a measure of self pity dominate my choices for five years. No more. I was ready to take back my life. I decided to try cycling again. If I could hike at such high elevations, surely I could ride a bicycle closer to sea level for long distances.
We bought one used bicycle. It had ultra-low mountain bike gearing which allowed me to pedal up mountain grades without losing my balance. Then, I had to find the correct blend between too much pushing on the pedals and too fast a rotation. Either one could reduce my blood oxygen far too quickly. Since we were still in Colorado at 9000 feet, I cycled only 30 minutes every other day, following a plan I read in Bicycling Magazine for fitness training. I followed this regime for two months. I kept my blood oxygen close to 90%; the highest pulse rate I allowed was 120 beats per minute. I felt stronger and fitter as time passed. As summer came to a close, we decided to make the big leap and commit to a long distance tour.
Mike and I chose to cycle New Zealand. We had cycled there in 2001 and loved the challenge and scenic wonders of the country. We figured about four months there would be sufficient for the routes we were planning. Most importantly, we had checked with New Zealand Customs and found we could ship my medicine into the country every month with virtually no restrictions. I had only to include the shipping invoice inside the box. I added a letter explaining Alpha-1 and the contents of the box that my doctor had written for me so I could travel to foreign countries easier. The pharmacy shipped my medicine to my mail forwarding service. My wonderful service sent it on via UPS to a Post Office (General Delivery) in New Zealand where I expected to arrive in so many days. The medicine went through customs with a simple inspection and was waiting in the post office within 6 days. On one occasion, we changed our cycling route. The New Zealand Post simply forwarded the box to our next destination. We couldn’t believe how simple it was.
Most of the cycling in New Zealand is low elevation. It is an island; the ocean is the dominating feature. The mountain ranges are low by Colorado standards. The highest pass we crossed was 3500 feet and that was the exception. The biggest challenge cycling New Zealand was the steepness of the hills. Far too many roads were built with 10% grades and more, but the ultra-low mountain bike gearing got me up those hills without a balance problem. Mike carried most of our luggage which included camping gear, computers, food, and my medicine. I was able to carry two rear panniers with our clothes and our bag of cooking pots. I was pleased to be able to make that contribution to our efforts.
We cycled for four months, about 3000 miles in all. The journey is the start of many more to come. We will continue until we can’t do it anymore. We are both re-energized and I am ready to push my limits and do the best that I can with what I have. Mike turns 70 in June; I will be 67.
We invite all of you to follow our trip in photos and blogs as posted on our website: www.hikingbikingadventures.com. We have dedicated the site to the Alpha community in hopes of providing inspiration to all of us who have been challenged by the disorder, and to say thank you to all who have shared their inspiring stories with me via this website.
See their first appearance on our website here
