Cycling heroes big and small

Posted by Neil on Apr 27, 2010 in Versus | 0 comments

Hero worship is a dangerous thing. We revel in building up athletes to almost mythical proportions, and we take as much pleasure in knocking them down again. Growing up I worshiped professional cyclists and admired their determination. I had so many posters of them tacked to my bedroom wall that it looked like the interior of the Madonna del Ghisallo. Throughout my career in the cycling industry I still admired good stories of battling back after injury or crash. However I now more often than not look closer to home to see true stories of determination.

Several weeks ago I met Greenville, South Carolina native Bryan Young. As a young man Young lost his left leg above the knee in an accident. He continued on with his life, but as the years ticked by the athlete in him resurfaced and he took up cycling. Not satisfied with just riding his bike, he started to train with the goal of becoming a member of the cycling Paralympic team. He has a custom fabricated mast attached from the top tube running to the bottom bracket with a pedal attached at about the mid-way point. This mast allows him to snap his leg into the pedal and, if I may borrow a Liggett-ism, “dance on the pedals.” Pre-mast, Young failed in the qualifying time trial by a slim margin to make the team. With his new mast he thinks he can make up that time gap and become a member of the squad. I don’t know if he will or won’t make it, but I know one thing – his determination is equal to the many pros I have interviewed. He didn’t just quit. He went back to the drawing board, came up with another plan and is in the process of executing it. Young is out there training hard to make his goals a reality.

Read the rest of my post at Wheel Sucking with Neil on Versus.com

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