This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Relationships After TBI. Hugh Rawlins, TBI Survivor, discusses Getting Back on the Bike.

When I finally got back to riding I was riding a mountain bike, which has very thick tires. It was difficult, but I was riding on grass. And that was okay, but then when I tried riding on the road when I went out with a friend where I scratched and skinned my knee. But we went for our little ride and came back and I hurried up and tried running up stairs so that nobody would see the blood.

And it only got better, you know, because then later on when I got back onto a road bike I had a friend of mine, again one of those guys I used to train with, he was with me and put me between the road and him, so that if I started to go all cockeyed or something he could always knock me on the grass and say that’s enough. So luckily he didn’t have to do that, but it felt good being able to get back and do that.

With the surfing you know it was part of my rehab, I went to the beach for a week and a friend of mine let us borrow his place. And that was just the start and now I just, all I want is to go to the beach and go surfing.

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