The incredible story of The Girl On A Bike
Adventure Bike Rider: The incredible story of The Girl On A Bike
I had the honour of chatting to Ollie Rooke at Adventure Bike Rider, here’s what he wrote:
Extract from Adventure Bike Rider:
If you’ve ever scrolled through adventure biking photos on social media, chances are you’ve come across images of Vanessa Ruck, aka The Girl On A Bike, ripping up the trails on various mud-splattered motorcycles. But behind the action shots and infectious smile that she shares with her thousands of followers online is a story of grit, determination, and a refusal to give up on a motorcycling dream. Ollie Rooke caught up with Vanessa to discover the incredible story behind The Girl On A Bike and to find out how the Adventure Bike Rider Festival inspired her.
It was a bicycle accident of all things that got Vanessa Ruck into motorcycling. She was cycling home from work one night when a car ran a red light and knocked her flying. After being rushed to hospital, doctors failed to properly identify her injuries and sent her home. It was a fateful decision that would have painful repercussions and change the course of Vanessa’s life.
She says: “Back then I was fit, I was athletic, and I was healthy but that all changed when I got on my bicycle after work. If I fast-forward to now, I’ve had seven surgeries including a reconstructed shoulder and hip. They couldn’t have been more wrong that night at the hospital. I was actually sent home with bruising!
“When I finally got treatment, my recovery was a bit of a rollercoaster. They’d tell me I was doing alright but then I’d hurt and I knew it wasn’t right, so I’d go back and do more tests and they’d spot something else that they’d missed. Then I’d be back in for more surgery.”
Despite enduring several years of reconstructive surgeries and painful rehabilitation, Vanessa admits, perhaps surprisingly, that she wouldn’t change anything because it was that accident that led to her pursue her motorcycling dreams and the creation of The Girl On A Bike….
For the rest please head to Adventure Bike Rider here:
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The Girl On A Bike thegirlonabike
I'm a bike loving, free spirited adventurer born and raised in England. Life took a turn in 2014. In a single moment life as I knew it was taken away by the momentary lapse in judgement of a red-light-jumping car while I was cycling. My recovery to fitness took a little over 7 years with 7 major surgeries and since that day I've made it my goal to make the most out of life. My biggest goal is to help encourage others to get up and get out there. It doesn’t matter what it is, but we all start somewhere and if I can do it, so can you! Let’s make the most of life, what we do have around us and have fun doing it.
