Pause for thought – do we really want life as we knew it back?

As heard on BBC Radio Oxford

If you prefer to read, here is my pause for thought:

Hi, my name is Vanessa Ruck also known as The Girl On A Bike and my pause for thought began in 2014 when I was involved in a life changing accident while cycling. Over the following 6 years I was on a mental and physical roller coaster to get my life back. A life of extreme sports, peak fitness, and most importantly pain free living. I battled through a time when I didn’t even see myself as me, this broken body unable to participate in the activities I loved was not me. Many of my friends would ask me “when is Vanessa” going to be back?

And then it happened. I realised, not over night, but in an awakening journey about what recovery really means.

When people say ‘recovery’, you typically think of returning to how you were before. But there is no going back. You do not merely recover, you reinvent yourself. You learn so much as you fight through, you see things in new ways and discover new truths; it’s an irreversible journey.

As I record this sat at home in lock-down I see so many similarities to the world’s battle with covid-19. None of this was planned but it is unfortunately the reality of the world we live in right now. The effects are life changing, life as we knew it torn apart, and impacts likely to last well into the future.

I hear so many talking about wanting life back, going back to how things were before. But I can’t help but wonder if that is really what we should want. Lock-down has taught me a lot about myself and somehow made me look at the world in a new way. Always busy, rushing, doing, being, fighting to cram more in, have more, do more, be more. But what does it all mean if we cannot share it with our friends and families? I wonder if I am not the only one seeing what’s more important in life than things. Time is precious.

How many of us have had more phone calls with loved ones and friends more than ever before? How about grandparents, where before it might be months between visits, and now we are embracing video calling and connecting as much as we wish. I’ve had Friday night socials, coffees in the garden sunshine. Reconnecting with people where ‘time’ seemed to have drifted us apart simply because life was ‘too’ busy. I’ve even spent time encouraging more birds into the garden and enjoying their songs. Done jobs I never had the hours in the day to do. I’ve explored the countryside around home. Places on my doorstep so beautiful yet I didn’t realise they were there, instead, jumping on planes and traveling. And most importantly. I’ve stopped to listen and be grateful for everything I do have around me right now. Yes I would love to jump on my off road motorcycle and tear off into the wilderness, but life, even in lock-down is a blessing to be alive.

I think that after lock-down I will take learnings from this time, realising that life does not have to be quite so fast paced and hectic. Keeping a little stillness and deep breaths of appreciation, keeping stronger connections with those I love. Sometimes it is the simple things in life that can bring the most joy.

BBC Oxford Radio LIVE

I was honoured to be invited to join Kat Orman on her mid morning programme, Stories to make you smile and Make A Difference. We talked about life in lock-down and how even now in this strange chapter we all have so much to be grateful for.

#bbcradio #lockdown #thegirlonabike

Listen to the interview here:

ADV Pulse: Adventurer Copes With Life-Changing Accident By Racing Off-Road

After years of painful recovery and surgeries, she found relief racing off-road.

This one was an emotional one for me. ADV Pulse wanted to do a deep dive into the real implications of racing following my accident and it was a pretty emotional experience talking to Egle but I really hope my story helps others.I’d love to hear what you think about the article in the comments below. Do you battle on, can you relate?

Read the full article here: https://www.advpulse.com/adv-news/vanessa-ruck-adventure-rider/

The Girl On A Bike LIVE on BBC Radio Oxford

Guess who was live on the radio? BBC Radio and little me! It was such an honour, as The Girl On A Bike, to join BBC Oxford show and share my story. As the 6-year anniversary of my accident looms closer I hope that my struggles and story can help others find the energy to keep pushing on. Life can through us curve balls but it’s how we handle them that counts. Our of my accident grew The Girl On A Bike.

If you would like to listen to my BBC radio interview, please click on the link below and skip to 08.50 minutes in – that’s me! Two sections with a song in the middle. I’d love to hear what you think? Please do have a listen and comment below – I want to hear from you!

Here’s a quick summary of what we discussed:

• The accident and what happened in March 2014
• My recovery and new found moto addiction with The Girl On A Bike
• What is hard enduro
• My favourite mud facials
• How life’s journey changed so dramatically
• What’s next
• Oh and hear my near whoops on live radio
• Why I love sharing my story

You’ll need to register to listen, but it takes seconds.

Recording no longer available for review. Stay tuned for my next live experience on BBC Radio Oxford.

The Girl On A BIKE goes BEC – Motor Rad Reporter

The Girl On A Bike survived the British Enduro Championship round one! Here’s more on how I found it over on Motorradreporter. You can also read about how I got horrifically stuck and how Tom Sagar saved me… #hero

To read more please see Motor Rad Reporter article here

Riding Buddy my Husqvarna Motorcycles UK TE 250i and surviving the 6 hour race.

https://www.motorradreporter.com/artikel/girl-bike-goes-bec?fbclid=IwAR1ul4R5Wv__6UCxSqCwtO3r_0ozdbS7mwYbCfq9aPTqPIF0M7opwfpaN84

Honoured to be called a “daredevil” by Motor Rad Reporter 🤪 I’m just out there trying to make the most of life. A life changing accident really puts things in perspective and the terrifying reality is that tomorrow…might not come.

Seize the day 💪🏼

https://www.motorradreporter.com/artikel/girl-bike

From Motocaina: Monmouth Youtube Vanessa loved sports activities, but in 2014 she had an accident that completely changed her life. It was then that her … motorcycle became the greatest support in her recovery.

Her sports and life activity has completely changed, because the injuries she suffered required a calm lifestyle. Cycling was out of the question, so Vanessa chose a motorcycle for her commute. She did not know then how it would affect her life …

The choice fell on the Harley-Davidson brand, the 2015 model – Dyna Street Bob, or “Thug”. Her love for the brand blossomed during her honeymoon, when she and her husband rented two HD motorbikes for a 5-day trip. And with the motorcycle and numerous trips, the joy of life has also returned. After some time, a small Cross KTM was delivered to the garage.

The website “The Girl On A Bike” was created in 2016 on a hospital bed, when Vanessa needed some positive momentum in her life after her third hip surgery. There, she showed her real life, motorcycle trips, but also days that were strewn with spikes, not roses.

Her story gave strength to many people in a similar situation, it became an inspiration. After such a positive response, the motorcyclist continues to share her life and run a blog. It is already after 6 operations and still requires rehabilitation. She did not regain her former life, but she gained a new one, also fully satisfying!

For the rest of the Motocaina 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.

When an accident turned my life inside out, I found salvation in Harley-Davidson, and then came the start of The Girl On A Bike

I was super honoured to be asked my HOG to write about my journey to becoming a Harley-Davidson rider. This was published in HOG Magazine – Harley Owners Group – Published in EMEA region (English, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish), as well as in Canada (English and French), Latin America (Spanish) and Brazil (Portuguese).

See below for the full story

My addiction to Harley-Davidson emerged following a few challenging twists in the road of life. It all started on our honeymoon, when we hired two Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Texas, exploring 1,000 miles around Route 66, Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo and the breathtaking scenery of the Palo Duro Canyon. It was an amazing adventure [read more on how we did Route 66 in 5 days here].

Back home, our lives were full of excitement; we lived for sport and the great outdoors. There was this constant underlying thirst for adrenaline. With a full-time job, I found my ways to shape life around these needs. Weekdays entailed a 16-mile daily cycling commute, lunchtime gym sessions and summer evening wakeboard sessions. Weekends were filled with road trips, kite surfing, mountain biking and climbing.

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  The Girl On A Bike Accident 4
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  The Girl On A Bike sports snowboarding
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  The Girl On A Bike sports kite surfing 3

Life-changed

But things took a life-changing turn in March 2014 when, while cycling, I was hit by a car that jumped a red light. In that moment, life as I knew it was gone [more on the accident here]. As I write this nearly five years on, it’s three weeks since my sixth surgery, but I’m confident it’ll be the last operation. We’ve had to make a lot of changes in our lives following the injuries, and there have been ups and downs between surgeries. No sports, no adrenaline, my social life vanished, and I was unable to do my cycling commute. I decided to get a motorcycle to skip the traffic and save money, and this was the first catalyst to Harley ownership.

Later, my husband Alex was posted by the Royal Air Force to Afghanistan, which devastatingly was just one week prior to my full shoulder reconstruction surgery. On his return, for a belated wedding anniversary, I organised two Harleys for the afternoon – and that was it. It was immediately apparent that this thumping V-Twin was the key to a world of enjoyment that required minimal physical demand, something that would bring adventure to our worlds with my injuries.

Within weeks we were Harley owners and the adventures unfolded. In the three and a half years since, around my surgeries and rehabilitation, we’ve done 15,000 miles, countless weekend trips, wild camping, explored six National Parks, enjoyed sunrise rides over London’s Tower Bridge, and undertaken a 2,700-mile Alpine adventure [see more]. We have had a blast on two wheels.

Thug

I genuinely can’t begin to imagine how I would have made it through the last few years without ‘Thug’, my 2015 Dyna Street Bob. She’s given me a sense of adventure that went missing after the accident. I’ve also started The Girl On A Bike an Instagram blog, @TheGirlOnABike. While bed-bound following one of my surgeries, I decided that there must be other people out there facing similar struggles; maybe I could reach them through social media? I never imagined that so many people would find hope and encouragement in my story. There have been days when I didn’t want to get out of bed, but my followers helped me find strength, and there have been many days where my followers were struggling and my story has helped them.

Recovery

When people say ‘recovery’, you typically think of returning to how you were before the accident. But there is no going back. You do not merely recover, you reinvent yourself. You learn so much as you fight through; it’s an irreversible journey. While my journey over the past five years has been brutal, I feel somehow lucky. I have friends now I would never have met, I have a Harley-Davidson I would never have bought, I have realised the importance of a work-life balance, I’ve become even closer to my husband and soulmate, and I have a fire in my soul only this type of recovery could light.

Make sure you’re following me The Girl On A Bike on Instagram and Facebook to hear more about my ongoing journey. 

As published in HOG