#15 - More planning then riding
Currently, you will see that I’m planning some pretty extensive tours. But they’ve been in the planning stage for months now. And just one has been done by now. If it were up to me, I’d be riding them all. One after the other. Exploring every day, and racking up the achievements in record pace. But that’s just what I want. It’s more then my body allows me to do right now.
Read more below the image…
Map of planned and passed tours
Progress is a combination of things
I have been doing a couple of things to get where I am at this point. The first thing I started doing, was to change my diet. It doesn’t feel as a dramatic change to me. It’s mostly about the amounts of different things I eat. I have been reading up on a healthy diet for a diabetic, and I changed it right away. The main idea behind that, is to lower the carbs, and add protein. I haven’t been hungry a single time, and I still feel very satisfied by what I eat. Maybe one day I should make a post about some of the recipes.
My diet is the side where stuff comes in. But it has to be consumed so to say. That’s where the workouts come in to play. Every carb I burn, is a carb not turned in to fat. And when I use more carbs then I actually eat, The fat is reduced. It’s as simple as that. We all know that. So during workouts, feeling the burn in my muscles, really makes me feel good. I’ve actually caught myself visualizing the fat melt away, while riding through the countryside. I know… My head works in weird ways sometimes. But it was a great way to keep me motivated to peddle the kilometers away. And in a way, the scale confirmed my little daydream the days after.
With progress come setbacks
After a while, I started to feel the changes in my body. To actually see the difference. And while that felt really good, it also brought up some issues. How did I ever think I could just change my lifestyle after a quarter of a century, without my body starting to fight back? Of course it wasn’t going to be that easy. It had been set in its ways for so long. There used to be cushioning that’s starting to go now. There was pressure on joints that actually kept them nice and tight together. Working out now, I can feel my joints have more space to move in. It feels like they are getting less and less stable. At the same time, there’s more muscle power pulling on them. I’m pretty sure that’s an issue that will solve itself over time, as my muscles grow. But it means I can’t just hop on the trike and go for a multi day ride yet. There’s some other minor issues as well, that mostly are about comfort. Without going too much in to detail, less cushioning also means skin over bones when sitting. Add movement to that, and you get where the discomfort comes from. I’m sure my body will get used to that after a while, but that also will take some more time. Maybe even a different seat on the trike.
Dreams help my motivation
While struggling a little to move forward as fast as I’d like, I still need to stay motivated. I need targets to reach. Achievements to overcome. Watching my weight go down is helpfull. Seeing my blood glucose reach acceptable levels, was a goal in itself. They both help me to keep going. I know those are very important for my health. But I need more than that. Setting goals that seem just beyond my capabilities, actually helps me reach them. I know it will be hard to get there. But not impossible. Remember, In January, I could hardly ride more then 30 km. Early May, I did more then 100 km in a single day. And it felt like I could have done even more if the day had been a little longer, and the breaks hadn’t ben such great times exchanging experiences with other recumbent travellers.
Now there’s two reasons I’m planning longer tours before being able to ride them. The first one, is that I like to be reasonably prepared. Since I never did anything close to this, I want to know where I’m going, and where I’ll be sleeping. There’s plenty of apps these days that can help you with that on the road, but I’m more comfortable knowing those things beforehand. At the same time, looking at maps has always relaxed me. I’m not sure why, but those things seem to open opportunities. I still remember the days in my childhood, where I was actually lying on top of my dad’s maps, trying to reconstruct trips and hollidays. Often, the world around me seemed to dissappear, and a whole new world opened up between all those lines and markings.
The second reason is that it allows me to dream. I know I will be able to do those things. There’s no doubt in my mind that one day, sooner rather then later, I’ll be setting of and actually achieve those things. I’ll be looking back on those rides as a happy memory very soon. And who knows what comes after that. Days on the road can become weeks… Maybe even months.
For now, that remains a dream.
But watch me…
