Neil Myers

How one man’s love of cycling nearly killed him, but ultimately saved him.

The race will take Neil from Venice Beach through Mid-City and finally to DTLA, but the road that brought Neil to that starting line was far longer and much harder.

Ever since his 55th birthday, Neil has competed in over 20 triathlons across the country, winning major races in California and New York.

Neil’s passion for racing pushed him to constantly train, which is what brought him to Gibraltar Road in Santa Barbara on August 4, 2018.

Out for a ride on a sunny day, Neil was coming down a steep road at 35 mph when he turned a corner and met an oncoming truck in his lane.

With no time to react, Neil went through the truck’s windshield, fracturing his skull, both legs, seven ribs, as well as puncturing a lung, hemorrhaging his brain and losing almost 70% of his blood on the blacktop.

He was air-lifted to a nearby hospital, where against all odds, a 70-person hospital staff worked around the clock to save his life.

Once his condition had stabilized, Neil underwent the first surgery to repair his legs. While in recovery the next day, he went online and ordered a replacement bike for his next race – Neil’s road to recovery had begun.

Before regaining the power to walk, Neil challenged himself to mount a spin bike. Within a month, he succeeded. Four months later, he was outside on his new bike. And by the end of the year, he was back in Santa Barbara, training on the same stretch of road that nearly killed him.

,