Wheelybeardo
from diabetic to traveller
Early 2025, aged 46, I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 and a double neck hernia. There was the initial shock, followed suit by the very strong will to do something. So, I started walking as a workout. While a nice way to lose some weight and improve my overall health, it didn’t feel like something I would do intensively for a long period of time. There simply wasn’t enough of a thrill in it for me. It didn’t challenge me to the point that I needed. I could walk for hours without feeling it was really putting me to the test. I didn’t feel the burn in my legs so to say. And I needed that. I needed the feeling that I could challenge myself. That I could put my body through its paces, while working on my health. Accomplishing my goals while having to fight getting there.
2 wheels
Years ago, much of my time went to riding bikes. I rode them to school every day. Each day, that accounted for around 25 km. On top of that, I went for long rides. 50 km. 100 km. One day, I just started riding, towards the coast. When I got there, I had a very large ice cream, topped with strawberries and an exuberant mountain of whipped cream. That day, I had my longest ride ever. 300 km in one day. I never got the same feeling again. A feeling of accomplishment that was really hard to top.
3 wheels
Since walking didn’t bring me the challenges I need, I started riding the bike again. First on a regular diamond frame bike, rekindling that old love. Immediately, I found myself setting goals and beating them. After 25 years of little to no time on a bike, it felt good to just get on the bike, and return home with over 100 km on the odometer. But then the doctors told me riding a bike wasn’t ideal for my neck. It could actually do more damage than it would do good. Because on a regular bike, your neck tilts to the back, it puts pressure on the hernias.
The solution was a recumbent bike. Lying down, the neck is tilted forwards, actually reducing the pressure on the hernias. Of course I looked at a two-wheeled recumbent at first. It’s the logical first step coming from a diamond frame. And I must say, they looked good. just not great, knowing what was brewing in my head.
If I was going to do this, I would want to challenge myself. Really challenge myself. I wasn't just going to ride the recumbent for short trips. I was going to conquer the world…
Well, let’s see about that of course. The world is a pretty large place. And I’m just a guy on a trike.
But with those plans in mind, I decided on three wheels. Recumbent trikes have the possibility to cary more gear then two-wheelers. They have better stability, with that extra wheel, and they are easier to pull a trailer with. Of course they way a little more, but that doesn’t really scare me. If anything, I would call myself a “power biker”. I used to be able to battle headwinds for long times, and hills never scared me. At the same time, I never felt agility was my forte.
So there I was. Mid march 2025, my AZUB Tricon 26 was delivered. I assembled it in just a couple of hours, and within a week, the first 250 km were behind me.
The start of a journey.
The start of change.
The start of a better health.
