Cycle racer recovers from horrific injury

Wightlink Wight Mountain Cycle Racing Team member Pete Moore has returned to riding on the roads once again, six months after a horrific accident.

Pete broke his hip/femur in three places after being cut up by a car and landing on a stone kerb while riding on Gunville Road, near Newport in December. He required major surgery to repair the damage involving a titanium rod being inserted from knee to hip and a large screw from the rod into the ball of hip joint.

The recovery began to gradually rebuild mobility and strength. After six weeks, he received the welcome news that the bones were sitting in good position and had started the process of fusing back together.

He said: “Up until then I had been mentally very low with all the uncertainty of not knowing if surgery was successful or not. To be given that positive news though was like flicking a switch back on knowing that with lots of hard graft it was hopefully just matter of time.”

Pete’s daily routine of physio involved a lot of painful mobility, strength building and flexibility exercise.

He said: “But determination to return to cycling and later getting back to working as a self-employed mechanic was the positive force driving the recovery on at a rapid pace.”

At the beginning of March, Pete got back on the bike on a fixed turbo trainer doing 20 minutes gentle pedalling daily for the first week. Gradually he increased the time until by the end of the sixth week, he was up to 1hr 30min, along with daily bodyweight squats, stretching and other exercises.

By mid-April he was back out on the road on gentle rides but this month he has been stepping things up. He added: “I have now achieved probably around 90% of my previous level of fitness and strength on the bike. I am hopeful of a return to some racing probably next year as this year’s calendar is so unsure due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“In the meantime, I really can’t thank the NHS, my surgeon and the nursing team enough for the fantastic care and the positive outcome they have given me after the horrendous injuries sustained.”