The 2025 story
After 25 years living without any workout worthy of the name, I started riding again. On a very basic electric bike at first, followed soon by the recumbent trike you see in many of my pictures. The reason I started riding again, was a diagnosis of diabetes type 2. Since I also live on the autism spectrum, that meant I wasn’t going to follow the paved paths. Simply because they don’t always work for me. The science behind it is the same for every one.
Work out - improve your health.
But the path to better health can differ. I needed something that would feel good. Something I wouldn’t give up after a while. I needed something that could even motivate me just by doing it. At first, I started by walking. Now remember I hadn’t had any real workout for 25 years. Within the first month, I was walking 24 Km in a single day. And it felt good. The activity did. The pace didn’t. It just felt to slow for me. I need a constant change in scenery. And I couldn't find that while walking. So I turned to my old love of riding a bike.
I had this cheap basic electric bike. Fat tires and a sleek frame, but just one gear and a smalle electrical motor. A battery that couldn’t even support me for a full ride over 30 Km. So I started to use it selectively. I used the motor after a stop or on a climb. But that was it. And it worked for me. My pace wasn’t incredibly high, but I was riding. The landscape passed by at a better pace for me. My brain was kept busy by new inputs at a steady pace.
But the pain in my arm and hand, I was feeling since late 2024, got worse. Much worse even. To the point where I could barely lift my arm above my waist. The point where I woke up several times each night, because the pain was taking the upper hand again. Then came that diagnosis. A double hernia in my neck and the urgent need for surgery. Shocked by that news, I requested time to consider. I’m not against surgery when it’s absolutely necessary, but just as a final resort. No matter the progress medical science has made, it will always come with risks.
So I went home, and I started doing some research. About such surgery, about other options too. My mom had been riding an upright three-wheeler for decades. Different set-ups over time. And I knew about recumbents too. So there I was, shortly after the diagnosis, I was creating my most ideal recumbent trike on the AZUB-website. They are a Czech-based manufacturer of high quality recumbents. Since I didn’t want to loose any more time, now that I re-found the love for cycling, I started emailing AZUB about options to cut the 10-week delivery time. All their products are custom-built, so those timetables are pretty normal. I just wanted to keep going now that I just started again. The solution was an of the shelf trike. Built for someone, but never collected. Days later, I went on my first ride. The first of many.
I kept riding further from home. More often. Sometimes days in a row. Setting personal bests wherever I could. My diabetes improved unbelievably fast. I went from “In dire need of medical support” to “You could consider dropping the meds if you can keep up the workouts” in just months. And that became a motivation in its own right. Keeping the glucose as low as possible.
Along the way, I made my mistakes of course. But every time I learned something from that mistake.
There was this first time I went to ride on the Francorchamps F1 circuit. I’ve always loved that place. There’s just so much racing history there. And as any cyclist will tell you: The 17 % climb out of Raidillion, followed but the 4 % Kemmel straight is hard. It’s a real test for any cyclist. I just did 4 laps that day, but it was a solid workout. Before I went for the 2 hour car ride back home, I should have eaten something. Nothing felt of, until I got home. I got up from my car seat, and immediately the lights went out. I had my first hypo. It doesn’t happen often with type 2 diabetes, but I’m living proof it can. Moments after I came back around, I measured my values, and I was only just over the lower limit. It’s fair to assume I was below that limit.
But as I said, I learned from that experience. From then on, I am supported by a professional to make sure I get enough carbs, protein, fat, liquids or anything I am depleting during a ride.
And it’s been like that with many things. 2025 was my year for learning. My year for making mistakes. I’m sure I’ll keep making them in the future, but the mistakes should get smaller over time. Just as the rides get longer. I’ve learned to listen to my body during that year. I’ve learned that it’s ok to take time of from the workouts. I’ve learned I can restart when I set myself a goal. Something my autism makes me very much afraid of. At least, my executive function makes it harder to restart and to keep going. But I learned I can create the circumstances for it to work better.
During this first year, my health improved considderably. I lost weight. I got my hernia under control. The same for my blood glucose. I gained muscle. I lowered the amount of fat between my organs. And overall, I just felt better.
There was only one thing that hadn’t changed since early 2025. I wanted to go… and keep going. See what I can take. See what my body can take. What it would take for my body to say: “Maybe this is enough…”
That’s what 2026 will be all about.
