My life has always been on wheels. That gives you a different kind of movement pattern.

In the world I’ve been part of, we call it a movement economist — meaning, you walk as little as possible, but you’re always on wheels. Hemodialysis is a fantastic place to be.

But I was a bit skeptical when I was encouraged to cycle during the “Køge to Cologne” dialysis cycling campaign.

During dialysis, I often experienced drops in blood pressure and the discomfort that comes with it.

Stubborn as I was — and wise as a 75-year-old — I refused to cycle during dialysis.

Nurse Karin encouraged me to just try — just a little bit. Only 2 km. But that seemed terribly far. I still refused. Yet Karin was more stubborn than I was.

So, I cycled the 2 km.

To my surprise, it wasn’t as awful as I had expected. From then on, I did as Karin said and cycled the 2 km. Peace was restored in the camp. While I was cycling, I didn’t experience any drops in blood pressure.

At one point, my macho gene kicked in, and I cycled 16 km during dialysis.

My legs hurt a lot. At first, I was annoyed about the pain — but reason won, and I kept going. From then on, it was pure success.

My dialysis sessions went better and better as I cycled longer and longer. As long as I cycled, I didn’t experience blood pressure drops.

But that wasn’t the only benefit — my mood improved significantly, and my overall quality of life increased. Gradually, things developed steadily. I built up more and more kilometers in my legs.

At one point, I reached 20–25 km per dialysis. My legs still hurt, but the soreness faded more quickly each time.

My overall fitness improved.

I love good music — it helps me find a rhythm to pedal to. It makes it enjoyable. Eventually, I reached around 30 km, and then it turned into a sport. I had to beat my record, though we weren’t quite sure how far I had actually cycled.

My benchmark was 36 km — achieved with a pleasant pain in my legs.

The new record had to be broken. Then I hit 41 km — and even 43 km, which is my current record.

But the most interesting part isn’t my record — it’s the joy that cycling during dialysis gives me.

You can always go home and feel sore afterward. I haven’t just become physically fitter — I’ve become mentally stronger too. I’m more optimistic about my life situation as a dialysis patient.

Cycling during dialysis has made me more movement-oriented outside of dialysis as well. Before, I was a movement economist — now, I’m movement conscious.

I wanted to cycle for longer, but since all of us dialysis patients share one bike, there was a limit to how far I could go. So, we held a family council at home. We decided that I should have my own dialysis bike — one that other dialysis patients could also use.

This was set in motion. Now, we can all enjoy that several of us dialysis patients can cycle during our treatments. Did I achieve what I wanted — to motivate others to do the same as me?

Have I motivated you?