As seen on Soloenduro: Vanessa is an English blogger with incredible fortitude. Six years ago she had a terrible bicycle accident on her way home, she was hit by a motorist who did not respect a red light. For Vanessa these years have been an ordeal, a long series of interventions to be able to get her back on a motorcycle, years of therapies, physical and mental efforts.  Finally after a long time, a few days ago, she took part in an enduro race organized by Wor Events in Stourport-on-Seven, at the Coney Green Farm in England. Three hours of hard Enduro, which took place in the mud due to adverse weather and where Vanessa outdid herself, bringing her Husqvarna TE 250i (which she calls Buddy) to the finish with more than excellent results. Here are his words after the race.

Vanessa : “Over, it was really tough! I would like to smile, but I’m too exhausted, three hours of enduro on such terrain put me to the test, me and my Buddy, we need to lie down and take a breath. This is it was my ninth race ever and having finished 19th out of 39 drivers entered in the Sport class was a great satisfaction, also because it was really hard.

I competed on a very dug course and I had to do my best to finish the day. The most difficult moments? One when my hip started to hurt again, basically six months after the last operation are few for what I had … and the second when I ended up under a tangle of three motorcycles, in the middle of a sea of ​​mud .

Five interventions in six years are not a trivial matter and the physical suffering has made itself felt, I realized that I still have to work a lot, start over with physiotherapy and training just to recover as much as possible, this is now the most important thing precisely for to be able to give my best for the next appointments. Thanks to the targeted protections I was able to withstand the difficulties, thanks therefore to my officialleatt knee pads, which saved me from further physical damage.Now … it’s time to rest and give my bike a good clean. What a day guys. Thanks to Worevents for a mega race and to Michelin for making tires that put me in a position to get by in that sea of ​​mud! “

For the rest of the Soloenduro article see here.

Check out other Vanessa Ruck media placements here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

As seen in the Dorset Echo and 35 other regional papers: A BOURNEMOUTH University graduate and YouTuber who has required seven surgeries after being hit by a car has won a national award for her content.

‘The Girl On A Bike’, also known as Vanessa Ruck, is a 35-year-old rising star in the motorcycle world. Vanessa won best social media channel and most inspirational rider at Motorbike TV Awards.

After being hit by a car while cycling in 2014, Vanessa’s world turned upside down, resulting in seven surgeries and a roller-coaster of mental and physical recovery spanning seven years. Through her recovery she discovered motorcycles, becoming known as ‘The Girl On A Bike’. She is an inspirational female.

As a motorcycle rider and racer, Vanessa speaks passionately about the challenges of recovery from a life-changing accident and making the most of every day despite chronic ongoing pain.

She said: “Motorcycles, something I started post-accident, have become my love and passion.“If you’d asked me seven years ago whether I would be racing off-road motorcycles and delivering motivational speaking, I’d have probably choked on my drink. But life takes us on some amazing journeys.’

“People can relate to my story because everyone goes through bad times. We all have battles, some less visible than others but with a positive outlook, determination, and a smile these battles can be a little easier.

“Hopefully I am inspiring others to show that if I can bounce back and keep going after seven surgeries, others can get through their hard times.”

Vanessa spends her time sharing all elements of life, largely surrounding motorcycles, and also does charity work delivering free workshops to UK youth. Utilizing her recovery to engage young minds she talks about resilience, goal setting, and coping with life’s pressures.

Given the Motorcycle TV peoples awards got a record 100,000 votes it’s clear to say Vanessa is an inspiration to women and men alike – one inspirational female! “I’m on a mission to prove to myself that I still can, and I hope that continues to encourage others to get up and grab life by the horns,” she added.

1. Somerset Live
2. Zalily
3. Newstral
4. Wales online
5. Portsmouth
6. Daily Advent x2
7. Lincolnshire Live
8. Enduro News
9. Grimsby Telegraph
10. Cheshire Live
11. Dorset Live
12. Gloucestershire Live
13. Nottingham Post
14. Chepstow Beacon
15. Reddit
16. Plymouth Herald
17. Daily Post
18. Gazette Live
19. Leicester Mercury
20. Somerset Live
21. Essex Live
22. Bristol Post
23. Nach Welt
24. Get Surrey 
25. Cambridge News
26. Coventry Telegraph 
27. Cornwall Live
28. Derby Telegraph 
29. Kent Live
30. Hertfordshire Mercury
31. Stoke Sentinal
32. Belfast Live
33. Devon Live 
34. Staffordshire Live
35. Hull Daily Mail
36. Dorset Echo

Check out other Vanessa Ruck media placements here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

Following winning the best social media channel and most inspirational rider at Motorbike TV Awards I am delighted to see TMX share my story. TMX is the world’s leading off-road weekly newspaper. Motorcycle Trials, Enduro News, Motocross and Race Results.

For the rest of the TMX article see here.

Check out other Vanessa Ruck media placements here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

On this episode Simon K speaks to Vanessa Ruck, The Girl On A Bike.

Having endured a horrific accident six years ago, Vanessa Ruck has been on a long and bumpy road to recovery. Six complex surgeries including shoulder and hip reconstruction, and years of physiotherapy and rehabilitation. Vanessa trained to enter two of the largest European rally and hard enduro races,  while undergoing more surgeries and dealing with the effects of her injuries.  

In 2014, Vanessa was traveling on her bicycle from work when a car jumped a red light and hit her head on, leaving her with life-changing injuries.

She began riding dirt bikes three years ago.Vanessa had always been an adrenaline and outdoors fanatic, enjoying extreme sports like kitesurfing, wakeboarding, snowboarding, and mountain biking. However, unable to go back to these sports, Vanessa took up motorcycling as it was completely new and initially something she could do without much physical demands – cruising on a Harley-Davidson. But the thirst for adrenaline quickly grew as her body recovered.

Vanessa started @TheGirlOnABike when bed bound after her 3rd surgery following the accident. Since then day she has continued to share her journey on social media with over 210K followers across all platforms. She is currently actively training and prepping for her upcoming rallies.

For the listen to the Collective Whisper podcast see here.

Check out my other media placements here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

As seen in Chepstow Beacon: Monmouth Youtuber, The Girl On A Bike, also known as Vanessa Ruck, has been nominated for a national online motorbike award for her creative content and is up against some big hitters.

35 year old rising star Vanessa said she couldn’t believe she was nominated in the same category as social media giant RoyalJordanian and would be thrilled if she did well in the comp.

Competitive Enduro Rally racer Vanessa has just come back from the Rallye Du Maroc and bagged a first prize. She thinks that it is because of the footage of her entering really challenging events or travelling to stunning countries, is why her videos on YouTube are energetic, inspiring and beautiful.

Vanessa worked in marketing for 10 years when life took a turn for ’the worse’, cycling to work and being run over by a car jumping a red light.

“Motorcycles, something I started post-accident, have become my love and passion. If you’d asked me seven years ago whether I would be racing off-road motorcycles I’d have probably choked on my drink! But life takes us on some amazing journeys.”

“People can relate to my story because everyone goes through bad times and I think they’re cheering me on to keep doing better and better. Hopefully I am inspiring others to show that if I can bounce back after seven surgeries, others can get through their hard times.”

For the rest of the Chepstow Beacon article see here.

Check out other Vanessa Ruck media placements here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

After attending Wetherby High school in Leeds it was great to see them mention our visit on their website.

Tim Bradshaw and Vanessa Ruck gave an inspirational talk to our Y9 & Y10 today.

Talking about the adversity they have overcome in their lives, the positive mindset and resilience they have shown to get where they are today

Tim was trying to summit Everest in 2015 when the Earthquake hit. 

Vanessa’s world was turned upside down, resulting in 7 surgeries and a rollercoaster of mental and physical recovery spanning 7 years. To find our more please visit  here website https://thegirlonabike.com/about-me-the-girl-on-a-bike/

For the rest of the Wetherby High article see here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

Article as seen on Frontaer: YouTube is blowing up with adventure riders everywhere and it’s these people who are inspiring the next generation of riders.

We’ve curated a list of the best Motorcycle YouTubers around for some genuine inspiration. These riders not only see their country but the entire world, and aren’t characters that you might expect. In fact, 4 of these adventure riders are actually female.

Note: These aren’t listed in any particular order and are simply Frontaer’s preference. We may have even left the best until last! And besides – there are way more channels than these 12 Motorcycle YouTubers.

1. eveRide ADV

There are also in-depth and honest adventure motorcycle reviews which is a refreshing change. After all, most adventure motorcycling magazines of yesteryear were just too generous with their 15-minute audits instead of putting their bikes through the wringer.

2. On Her Bike

This is the personal motorcycling diary of Kinga Tanajewska. She started riding in Australia while studying here and fell in love with the sport. From there, On Her Bike was born into an epic YouTube channel with many fans.

She’s known for her raw and candid style while being humble and accommodating of others. Her accent throws off many of her viewers as she sounds Australian yet speaks multiple languages fluently.

3. MOTOTREK

If you want to truly learn adventure motorcycling, then pay close attention to MOTOTREK. Practically every lesson that you want to know is covered here and completely for free. It’s clear that Bret Tkcas really knows his stuff and has seen much of the world.

4. Alex Chacon

While not a full-on adventure rider, Jeremy Rhydes has certainly got a decent following of 330,000+ subscribers. He’s more of a general adventurer nowadays as opposed to an adventure rider, and combines the road with the pavement.

Most Inspiring Rider: Vanessa Ruck

We couldn’t help ourselves and had to add another rider, one who’s captivated our hearts through her inspirational story. This is Megan from The Girl On A Bike.

In 2014 her life changed forever when she was severely injured after being hit by a car. Coincidently, she’s #13 on our list…unlucky much? Vanessa has since experienced 7 surgeries on the road to recovery and hasn’t let that stop her from getting a larger chunk out of life. She’s based in the UK but her various motorcycles have taken her across Europe and when she’s not riding, she’s tinkering in her incredible garage.

For the rest of the Frontaer article see here.

Check out other Vanessa Ruck media placements here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

Extract from Cross Country Adv: Vanessa Ruck, aka The Girl On a Bike, is an adventure-loving go-getter who finds fulfillment in dirt bike challenges. Born in England, Vanessa’s life has always been about getting involved in different physical outdoor activities and keeping fit. Even with a master’s degree and a full-time job, Vanessa looked for ways to stick to her underlying thirst for adrenaline and passion:  Taking road trips, kitesurfing, cycling, and climbing were all staples on her weekend schedule. Evening wakeboard sessions were also as common as the 16-mile weekday bike commute to and from work.

But everything changed for Vanessa in March 2014, when she had a horrific accident—getting hit by a car while riding her bicycle from work to. That unfortunate incident resulted in severe injuries on Vanessa’s hip and shoulder, spelling countless steroid injections, seven operations, full shoulder reconstruction, and six hip surgeries. The accident made Vanessa ask the important questions of life and helped her rekindle her interest in motorcycles.

Although she had had a Lifan Enduro 250 motorbike shipped in while she lived in the Bahamas, the accident made biking one of the new ways for Vanessa to continue her adrenaline-seeking life—especially as motorcycles only require a good balance and coordination to ride. Vanessa Ruck found particular interest in dirt bikes and got the Yamaha WRF250, but later had to change the 125kg Yamaha dirt bike to the 95kg KTM 200 because of the effect of the weight on her hip.

Vanessa is now fully engrossed in the world of dirt bikes. Riding her 2020 Husqvarna 250i followed by the Honda CRF 450 RX, she has now ridden in Andorra, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Germany, Bahamas, Wales, and many other countries. Today, even as her rehabilitation continues, Vanessa Ruck isn’t relenting in her thirst for adventure. She has progressed to hard enduro and has ridden in the British Extreme Enduro Championship as well as finished the Romaniacs Iron Class. She has also entered the hard enduro series and rally racing, taking part in the Qatar International Baja and Rallye du Maroc.

Your first foray into rally racing was the Qatar International Baja. How was the race?

Vanessa Ruck: Before Qatar, I had seven weeks off the bike because of my recent shoulder injury, so I had to have steroid injections and lots of physio to be able to get back on the bike. I rode my Honda CRF 450 RX, which is a rally/enduro bike, for about three hours before leaving for Qatar. And then in Qatar, I had to borrow a Beta 430 RR because there was no time to ship the bike to Morocco for the next rally. All I had was a little shakedown ride and then right off to the start line. I liked the Beta 430 RR, and I felt good on it, but it had a standard suspension which didn’t quite work for me. Still, I managed it.

Qatar International Baja is a three-day Baja-style race in the desert with roadbook navigation, but it was absolutely brutal. The average temperature was 45-55 Celsius, and only about 45% of riders finished the race. I was lucky to be racing with Patsy Quick and the Desert Rose team, but I’ll tell you, Patsy Quick is a tough cookie—she put me through my paces! It was my first time in the dunes, too.

Qatar has a somewhat barren landscape, so navigation was rather tricky – it was hard to get your bearings without trees, bushes, or houses to orient, you had to follow a crisscross of tracks and forks, and if you got lost, it’d take you a while to find your way again. It was intense, but it was an excellent training practice in terms of endurance and prep for Rallye du Maroc.

One day during the race, we had 80 kilometers of dunes ahead of us, and just 500 metres into the dunes, I thought I wouldn’t survive that section. However, I simply had to work harder, and when I had a scary near-miss in the dunes, I just gave myself a hard pep talk. I reminded myself to stay focused, and eventually, I did it. I came second in the Women’s Class in Qatar, right after Patsy. I felt proud as it was my first rally race and I threw myself into the deep end with that one.

What’s next for you?

Vanessa Ruck: I’m aiming for the Dakar rally, but I’m not putting the year on it just yet. It will be a long journey requiring lots of training, another Rallye du Maroc, and more affordable rallies in between.

I’m trying to be realistic – I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m willing to put in the miles. For me, getting into rally racing was intimidating. I had very little roadbook training, and I think it’s also one of the biggest blockers for other people.

People are always concerned about things like: How will I navigate? Do I need a rally bike? The reality, however, is that these Enduro Cup categories are a great way to get into rally. You just bolt on the roadbook navigation and go! It’s a much cheaper and easier way to try things out, and the only way to do it is to give it a go.

For the rest of the CrossCountryAdv article see here.

Check out other Vanessa Ruck media placements here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

Extract from AdvRider on Rallye du Maroc: Vanessa Ruck, aka The Girl On a Bike, is a well-known enduro and hard enduro rider from Britain. After an epic comeback – Vanessa had experienced a horrific crash leading to several hip and shoulder reconstruction surgeries and years of physiotherapy – Vanessa got into dirt riding a few years ago, but it wasn’t long before a hobby turned into a full-blown racing mission. Just this year alone, Vanessa conquered the Romaniacs Iron Class, finished Qatar International Baja, and raced Rallye du Maroc, one of the toughest rally races in the world where participants battle it out for the chance to race Rally Dakar.

And, sure enough, Vanessa has Dakar ambitions, too – but how did it all begin, and what drives her to achieve so much after such a long struggle just to be able to walk again? We caught up with The Girl on a Bike to find out.

Vanessa, how was your Romaniacs debut earlier this year?

Romaniacs is absolute madness. It was tough riding on hard enduro-style terrain; I was incredibly apprehensive a first – prior to the prologue, I was so nervous I was almost sick. Romaniacs has a bit of a scary reputation, so I rode the prologue granny-slow expecting horrific gremlins and obstacles on the way. It turned out there were none, save a few steep climbs, and I could have ridden it much faster. I got insanely nervous about Day One again, so I just tried to keep it together and remain as calm as I could. Little by little, I rode with more and more confidence, the bike held up really well; my husband and I trained very hard beforehand, so we managed to pace ourselves well. It was very challenging, but we took it with confidence.

On the other hand, the finish line obstacles at Romaniacs were pretty evil. They’re crowd pleasers, they’re designed to give the spectators entertainment, so you’ve got monster boulders and logs ahead, but the energy of the crowd is really cool! The last wall before the finish was absolutely monstrous, but I gave it a go and just went for it, steady and smooth throttle, ready on the clutch, and I got over the thing just fine. So I think as long as you can conquer your own mind, you can do anything.

The finish line of the last day, you could choose a line of bollards and a deep bog – as in, handlebar deep – or you could go over a 6-foot ramp that kicked you into the air and landed you in mud. A friend suggested I choose the ramp; the crowd was going crazy, this was the finish line, so I went for it, but I landed nose-heavy which meant a heavy landing for my arms and shoulders, then whiskey-throttled it a bit and almost went into the crowd, so it was all a bit dramatic, but hey, I got to the finish line. I was so overwhelmed with emotions – I didn’t know whether to laugh, scream, or cry. I felt incredibly alive.

Why did you choose Rallye du Maroc?

On your journey to Dakar, this is the best race to do. Looking back, I could have done this more sensibly – I could have done more roadbook training and raced a few mid-level rallies like the Hellas Rally Raid before. But because of COVID and because of budget reasons, that just wasn’t possible, so I had to throe myself right into the deep end. Having done the Romaniacs, I felt that it was a bit of a confidence boost; I prepared myself as best as I could, and that was that.

How was the race?

Terrifying, brutal, incredible, emotional, tough, amazing…it’s hard to find words. I’m very grateful for the Qatar experience – I’m sure I would have had a much, much tougher time at Rallye du Maroc if it wasn’t for the lessons from Qatar. Then again, in Morocco, I learned that all sand is not created equal, and neither are the dunes – during the Rallye du Maroc, we had terrain that was relentlessly varied. You had huge rocks, stones, and lumps that would threaten to throw you off, and the dunes were never the same – sometimes you’d get these rapidly undulating dune sections, then all of a sudden, you’d be in the monster dunes with high faces, then rocky terrain again. It was just relentless.

My teammate Tim and I decided to race together – after all, two brains and two bodies in case of navigation mistakes or bike drops are better than one. I was leading with navigation, and Tim would watch out for me; one of the scariest things in a desert race are cars and trucks. I mean, you have collision warnings and beeps when someone is coming up behind you, and you try to move to the side, but you’ve no idea where and what’s behind and often, you’ve got nowhere to go. Sometimes, you’d be in a ravine or a riverbed, and you’d have no chance of getting out of the way, so there were moments that were absolutely terrifying- imagine a racing truck hurtling toward you at speed, and you’ve got nowhere to move. Your life is literally in danger, and you’re gunning it for survival.

For the rest of the Advrider article see here.

Check out other Vanessa Ruck media placements here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.