EAST LYME, Conn.—Christine Richards finished the 90-mile Livestrong Challenge in Austin, Texas, almost three years after she was hospitalized from a terrible bicycle accident that left her broken and bedridden.
Starting just rows behind cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, Richards, an East Lyme resident, crossed the finish line in about five hours.
"There was a pure flood of emotions. Who knew that years later I'd be crossing the finish line? But it was so much more than that," Richards said. "I'm grateful that I could get back on my bike and be able to move forward and not look back."
Richards and her close friend Jen Scharbach, a Norwich resident, rode with "Team Fatty," a well-known group of bicyclers founded by Elden "Fatty" Nelson. The team consisting of more than 200 cyclists raised $264,842.59 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, in the fight against cancer.
"It's a good cause, a good fight. And when things get difficult, I just think, this is nothing compared to the people who are fighting the disease," Richards said.
The difficult times Richards refers to is when she got in a bike accident in January 2007 when a branch kicked up and wedged between the brake and the wheel of her bicycle she was riding on Route 161. As a result of the accident, Richards was unable to stand on her own. She needed help showering and couldn't type because of a fractured spine, broken collarbone and multiple breaks to her left hand, wrist and arm.
She was bedridden for three months for fear that her back was going to collapse.
During that time, friends, family and strangers stopped by with homemade meals and get-well cards.
Remarkably, Richards didn't have to have any surgeries, but needed physical therapy several days a week. Giving up bicycling was never an option.
"It was never a question of if I was going to get back on. It was when," Richards said.
Five months after the accident was the first time she got back on her bike -- to go for a ride with her daughters Tyler, 11, and Bailey, 9, on a four-mile trip to the Flanders Elementary School, a ride that she would do often with her family before the accident.
"Who would have thought a four-mile road trip would be so hard?" Richards said. "I cried all the way. I appreciated being back on the road," Richards said.
Richards saved the stick and banged-up helmet from the bike accident as a good luck charm. She also has a large plastic tote that contains dozens of homemade cards.
"Out of bad situations I believe there's always good," Richards said. "The bottom line is you just live every day. It's about living. Every day is such a blessing."
This past year she started going longer distances. She said she can't go as fast as she used to, but she feels comfortable. The race in Austin was the first time she'd gone 90 miles. Her only goal was to complete the race.
"Just accomplishing it is a milestone," Richards said.
Richards learned about the Lance Armstrong Foundation from Scharbach, who rode in the 50-mile Livestrong race in Philadelphia in August.
Richards and Scharbach are still advocating for designated lanes for bicyclists. They believe in the motto "share the road," and feel like at the very least, drivers should slow down.
"I still get scared on the road, but it won't stop me from riding," Richards said.
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Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
