As seen in Road Dirt: Join Vanessa Ruck, ‘The Girl On A Bike,’ as she fearlessly embraces life, overcomes challenges, and inspires others to live courageously. Nothing is impossible when you want it bad enough!

Vanessa Ruck is on a mission- To courageously squeeze every drop out of life, and to help others overcome their adversities and step into courageous living as well. To quote her directly, “I’m on a mission to prove nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough.” Gauging from the many adventures in her young life, and the inspiration she is to so many who know her and follow her travels, Vanessa is realizing her dream. She is the one and only, “The Girl On A Bike.”

There are endless scores of youthful “influencers” across social media and the wider web today, probably too many. Most are silly, self-absorbed superstar wannabes, posting selfies and videos to promote only themselves. Vanessa doesn’t like to counted among that ilk. Her vision is much larger than herself, or any social media notoriety. She’s an “influencer” no doubt, although she dislikes the term. But she influences in the right way, by encouraging others to look deeply into their own lives and find the courage to get outside and really live beyond their confining circumstances.

Born and raised in merry old England, Vanessa attributes her love for the great outdoors to her parents and upbringing. She states, “I was very lucky to have an incredibly outdoorsy childhood, with my parents always telling me, ‘Boredom is a lack of imagination. To entertain yourself, go outside and climb some trees or play with some sticks.’ I was incredibly active growing up, doing all kinds of sports my parents could get me into, from rock climbing to boogie boarding and horse riding.”

Everything suddenly and shockingly changed on March 25th, 2014, when she was struck by an automobile while bicycling her way home from work. Pedaling through a green light, a driver jumped out in front of her from her right, running their red light and impacting Vanessa on her right side, bicycle and rider flying. She never lost consciousness, she remembered- “It seemed to happen almost in slow motion. I hit the ground on my right side, could feel my heartbeat, my pulse thumping through my veins, my surroundings almost a blur.” Still tangled up with her bike, passersby immediately came to Vanessa’s aid, and an ambulance arrived in short order to transport her to a local hospital.

“While my initial injuries were not life-threatening, they were definitely life-changing.”

Inexplicably, she was sent home with orders to rest and let all the inflammation go down in her right shoulder, knee and hip. Turns out, she had major injuries deep in each, that would soon require multiple surgeries. As Vanessa states, “While my initial injuries were not life-threatening, they were definitely life-changing, and it was going to be a long road back to full fitness.” In the years since, Vanessa has undergone seven operations to her shoulder and hip, with full reconstructions of each, and the possibility of more in her future. She has worked hard to rehab, following doctors and PT directives in her recovery, and despite living with and managing chronic pain, Vanessa has gradually returned to an active life, albeit with some care and modifications.

“When people say ‘recovery’, you typically think of returning to how you were before the accident,” says Vanessa. “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 several 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 realized 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.” Well-said, Vanessa.

For the rest of the Road Dirt 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.