Cycling community rallies to help injured German bicycle traveler

Bicycle tourist Michael Sprick (red jacket at left) doesn't know it, but he's getting widespread support from fellow bicyclists as he battles for his life in a Virginia hospital bed.

The 40-year-old was on a 10-week bicycling ramble down the East Coast on Oct. 8 when he was struck from behind by the driver of a bread truck that swerved off the road.

Today, Sprick is still in a coma and on life support at the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. A chance meeting earlier in his tour at a West Virginia bike store has brought together dozens of bicyclists who are lending support to him and his family through the ordeal.

They're offering help at the Friends of Michael P. Sprick page on Facebook. It's heart-warming to see so many good people coming to his aid.

Community

“It's kind of like a community, when you travel across America. … People help you. It's an unspoken courtesy. I know if I were in his shoes someone would hopefully come to my aid.”

So says Alinda Perrine, who runs Free Spirit Adventures on the Greenbriar Trail in near Caldwell, West Virginia. She told the Roanoke Times that Sprick came into the bike rental and service center a few days before the crash to seek assistance with a damaged wheel.

Sprick made fast friends with folks at Free Spirit Adventures, where he's pictured above. Perrine, at right in the photo, and her husband made plans to hook up with Sprick on an upcoming bike tour of Germany.

Several days later, however, she got news of the crash. Contacting the German embassy, she was able to reach Sprick's sister in Germany and, with the help of a German translator, offered to look after her if she came to the US to be with her brother.

Expenses

At the same time, a bicyclist from Idaho, Larry Blakey, had abandoned his bike tour in Vermont to fly to Roanoke and sit with Sprick in the hospital. They had met and ridden together a few days earlier in the trip.

Sprick's sister is staying with a bicycling couple in Roanoke, and Perrine has arranged for translators so she can communicate with doctors and nurses at the hospital.

There are ongoing collections for expenses and prayer circles as well. Check the Friends of Michael P. Sprick page for details.

Meanwhile, the Roanoke Times reports that the truck driver, Norman Richard Marchant, has been charged with reckless driving and for driving on a suspended license. Both are misdemeanors.