Down, but not out
Man on cross-country cycle soldiering on after being struck by tire debris in Lower Truro
DeBerT It wasn’t exactly the start he was looking for.
Scant hours into a planned cross-country awareness cycle and Sean Richardson suddenly found himself lying in a heap on the side of the highway.
“I’m only five hours into my trip and here I am already in the hospital and my bike’s in the workshop,” Richardson said, from the side of road after resuming his journey less than 10 hours later.
It was around 5 a.m. Tuesday and Richardson, 48, was passing through Lower Truro on Highway 102 when he swerved to avoid tire debris from a tractortrailer.
In the process, a passing tractor-trailer ran over some of the debris and sent it flying, striking both Richardson and his rear wheel.
As he swerved, Richardson then struck a mud flap that was also lying on the edge of the road.
“That sent me on a bit of a spill there,” he said. “The bike just went flying out from under me and I went flying.”
And then, adding insult to injury, Richardson stood in disbelief as passing motorists swerved to go around without anyone stopping to offer aid.
“Almost comical but I have to shake my head,” he said. “I thought that was pretty damn rotten. I was trying to pick myself up off the road and grabbing the things that were on the bike and two cars actually went around me and my stuff to avoid me. And off they went. I thought that’s pretty rich.”
Richardson “freewheeled” his bike down the ramp and then limped into a gas bar on Robie Street where he called a cab to take him to the hospital for stitches and cleaning to an elbow and knee. His bike had to go for repairs to the wheels, brakes and handlebars.
Originally from England, Richardson now lives in Georges Lake, N.L. As a retired member of the military in both England and Canada he now is involved in extreme athletic events, such as mountain running.
So this year, he decided to head out on the open road by cycling from Halifax to Vancouver to bring awareness to a cause near and dear to his heart – the fact that on average 22 veterans a day in Canada and the U.S. commit suicide because they can’t live with what they have experienced.
“That’s over 8,000 a year. That has to change,” he said. “Hopefully our government will do something about it.”
Richardson knows he has some tough kilometers ahead of him, especially while bearing the pain from his first-day spill. He is quite willing to lick those wounds and soldier on, however, if those in power would expend some of their energy on solutions to help those who have made personal sacrifices for their country.
“The military is certainly not your run-of-the mill occupation and a lot of people suffer from many different things when they leave,” he said. “And I believe that number has to change quickly. Zero would be a lot healthier. I’m just blown away with 22 a day. It’s something that we all should find very difficult to live with. These are our service members and should be taken care of.” Sean Richardson continued his cycling tour across Canada on Tuesday afternoon. Early yesterday morning, just after starting out on his ride, he went for a tumble near Truro after being struck by debris from a passing tractor-trailer.