Ryan Good once crashed his bike, and the results were bad. Really bad. The injuries are a little too graphic to detail here, but let's just say if you heard them, you wouldn't want to sit on a bicycle again.
Good, a 26-year-old law clerk from Fort Thomas, spent a week in the hospital.
A month later, he was back on his bike.
"That was really the turning point," he said. "It really eliminated all my fears on the bike. (And) if you can go through this sport without fear, then you're golden."
The fearless Good once again hops on his bike this Saturday to race the nighttime Pro 1-2 at the Hyde Park Blast, an annual run-walk-cycle-party event that raises money for the fight against cancer.
Good took fifth in the super-competitive race last year and hopes to do as well Saturday racing against some elite athletes - this year the Hyde Park races are part of the USA CRITS series, which comprises some of the top criterium (short and on closed streets) races in the country.
You've got to see these races to believe them, and you can - the cyclists loop around a short course through Hyde Park and you can watch from the sidewalk. The men's pro race - where Good will be - is at 8:30 p.m., while the Rusty Griswolds are playing at the block party. The cyclists finish up just next to the square.
Keep an eye out for Good. He's on the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health - RGF pb Felt Bicycles Elite Team.
Good has been racing for four years and now trains every day - "My budget for food (would) break families of five," he said - and can't get enough of the competition.
"I think one thing that cycling has done for me is it's really made me aware of the power of your mind," Good said. "Your thoughts really do matter in life."
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skshawlaw - June 23, 2010 at 1:32 PM
Come to Madeira on Friday night for a great preview of the Race Saturday. The Madeira Centennial Criterium starts at 5:00 PM Friday in downtown Ma...
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