ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) – A bicycle is a perfect metaphor for life. Sometimes it is smooth, and sometimes it can be very rough. But it is a ride that we all must take.
Nicholas Young was on a ride one day that changed his life forever. That was 2015 in Chicago.
“I couldn’t see that the road had a big pothole because it wasn’t clear from my point of view. There was just a glassy clear surface on the road but what I didn’t know is underneath that water there was a pothole that was probably nearly a foot deep,” he said.
Young crashed hard. His legs never properly healed and in October 2018 he made one of the toughest decisions in his life. He decided to have his right leg amputated.
“I literally woke up from surgery crying from relief, but I knew this was the right decision,” Young said.
Two years later, Young became a double amputee. But he was not ready to give up riding his bicycle, or life and he paid attention when someone suggested he look into a recumbent bike.
“I love to ride out to Morrison, Bear Creek Trail, down south Chatfield State Reservoir quite regularly,” Young said.
After quickly learning to master the three-wheeled recumbent bike, Young never looked back.
“The recumbent bike has given me my freedom back,” he said.
Young eventually founded the bike club called The Misfits.
“We have folks who are amputees, spinal cord injury survivors, TBI (traumatic brain injury) survivors, stroke survivors, you name it. If you want to get outside and move your body, you are welcome,” Young said.
When Nicholas Young’s life road took a detour, it wound up helping him and a whole lot of others find their path.