To me, one of the coolest things to come out of the USA Cycling Pro Championships this weekend in Greenville, South Carolina, is seeing Saul Raisin back on the bicycle again.
The 23-year-old Dalton, Georgia, cyclist led the Palmetto Peloton Project charity ride on Saturday, nearly five months after he was seriously injured in a racing crash.
The Credit Agricole cyclist crashed into another rider during the Circuit de la Sarthe in April, suffering an intracerebral hemorrhage that required doctors to drain the fluid and remove part of his brain. They put him in a medically induced coma, and he was on a respirator for several weeks.
Raisin's mom, Yvonne, told the Atlanta Constitution on Aug. 14:
“He shouldn't be walking. They told us he'd never walk or feed himself. Look at him. He's a true miracle.”
Raisin's website and blog — Saul Raisin Racing — has chronicled his rehabilitation and recovery. In June he wrote:
“The last couple of months have been the hardest in my life mentally and physically. I have gone through almost every emotion and feeling possible. From learning how to eat and walk again it has felt like I have been reborn again. I feel like I have been given a second chance in life. I still get emotional when I think about how far I have come.”
On Aug. 8 he tells about finally getting back on the bike for an outdoor ride, with his dad riding alongside.
Here it is less than a month later and he's leading charity rides. You know there's nothing going to be stopping this guy.
See his “Raisin Hell” rubber bracelets that raise funds for the Shepherd Center rehab hospital in Atlanta.
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