‘I don’t know how I survived’: Around the world cyclist returns to Central Texas 2 years after horror crash
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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Two years ago Josh Quigley’s dream of riding a bike around the world was crushed under the wheels of a car traveling at 110 km / h in Temple.
Quigley knows he is lucky enough to have survived the horror crash that surprisingly led to Texas holding a special place in his heart.
“Thanks to the people of Texas,” he said when he returned to Austin on Wednesday. “This is a place that has become something very special for me.”
In 2019, the cyclist was doing a circumnavigation of the world when his attempt came to a sudden and brutal end.
Quigley was hit from behind in Temple by a vehicle that knocked him 15 meters through the air.
“I don’t know how I survived to be honest,” he said.
Quigley was hospitalized for weeks with multiple injuries, including a broken skull, seven broken ribs, and a broken ankle, resulting in three major surgeries.
But while some people might consider hanging up their bike helmets after such a scare, Quigley used it as motivation to reach greater heights.
“People think I’m a little crazy when I say this, but getting hit by a car in America was really one of the best things that ever happened to me,” he said.
“In my life I have always taken the negative and turned it into positive. I’ve turned the worst things that happened to me into really good things. “
Josh Quigley, pictured after the crash, with Pat Adams of the Texas NeuroRehab Center (Image: Texas NeuroRehab Center)
While recovering from his injuries at the Texas NeuroRehab Center in south Austin, Quigley vowed to come back stronger – and just three months later he felt ready to return to elite endurance cycling.
Unfortunately that was in March 2020 when the world started to shut down due to COVID-19.
Riding in his native Scotland, a recovered Quigley broke two world records. He drove the fastest time to cycle a 516-mile route around the Scottish Isles and then set the record for the greatest distance ridden in a week – 2,179 miles, or 311 miles a day.
Now he’s resuming the challenge he got so close to two years ago – to ride the world that requires cyclists to travel 28,000 miles.
“This is a goal that has been in my life for the past five years,” Quigley said.
Texas NeuroRehab Center in south Austin (Image: KXAN / Harley Tamplin)
“I’ve had seven attempts to cycle around the world – seven times I’ve tried and seven times I’ve failed. Here I am, lucky number eight, and this time I’ll finish it. “
Fittingly, the American leg of his journey begins in Temple on Friday. He will travel 1,800 miles from Central Texas to Times Square in New York City, with the solo adventure lasting approximately nine days.
“It’s just me and the bike that are out and about every day,” he explained. “I have to carry everything I need, all of my food, all of my water, clothes, towels, things to fix the bike – everything I need has to be on this bike.”
He then flies to Portugal and travels from Lisbon to Edinburgh – he plans to meet his challenge and be home by Christmas Eve.
Quigley returned Wednesday to visit the Texas NeuroRehab Center staff.
Pat Adams, a liaison nurse / clinic at the center, reflected on his positive attitude when he arrived at the facility.
“When he got here, he exceeded all expectations,” she said. “But I think that’s the mindset of an athlete like Josh.
“He didn’t go. He had a huge apparatus because he had an extensive fracture of his left ankle and he was beaten all over. He was tied up and determined to see it through, and he pretty much made it. “
The center has worked with other top athletes in the past, including legendary University of Texas running back Earl Campbell.
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