from diabetic to traveller

Early 2025, aged 46, I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 and a double neck hernia. From day one, I decided to try and fight this.
I started to make some changes in my life that would hopefully lead to real change.

Very soon, I decided to buy a recumbent trike. I couldn’t ride my old upright bike because of the hernia, but I rekindled my old love for cycling. And since I was already planning to start traveling, I went for a model that gave me the opportunity to do just that.

Another aspect of my health, is that I am on the neurodiversity spectrum. For me, that brings along the risk that I go all in. That I burn out before I could make a meaningful change. On the other hand, it often helps me to keep going. To reach for goals I consider impossible at that point in time.
So from the start, it was really important to search for a good balance. And to keep doing so to stay motivated.

Very soon, I noticed I was improving. Change came so fast, that I started to dream of real challenges again. Where I could only ride 30 Km in the beginning, I soon crossed the 100 Km line. Then I started to go to the Formula 1 circuit at Francorchamps to train for climbs. And someone told me about a thing called BRM’s. Brevets de Randonneur Mondiaux. Long rides that have to be done between a minimum and maximum average speed, including any brakes you might take. The shortest BRM’s are 200 Km. With the longest going well beyond 1.000 Km. As I write this, that’s my first big goal. My first official BRM. My first 200 Km ride. A dream for now, but I hope to do this, still in 2025. With my longest rides extending well over 100 Km already, this should be possible pretty soon. And when it happens, You wille read about it on my site of course.