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TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) – This weekend, thousands of bicyclists will take to the streets in the annual El Tour de Tucson. Among them will be George Hammel, whose personal journey has taken him from one-time professional racer, to paraplegic, to now, a profound inspiration.

“There’s nothing like being outdoors, and working to reach your goals,” George said. “It’s really liberating every time I get on the bike.”

Watching George ride his bicycle along the Rillito riverwalk is like watching a miracle in motion. That’s because his bike’s two wheels enable him to move around in a way his two feet can not.

“It’s a little difficult when I walk,” George said, as he uses special braces to push one foot in front of another, walking with a limp. “I have to almost look right in front of me, and if I look around, I might get off balance.”

Years ago, this one-time professional motocross racer suffered a serious crash, breaking several bones in his body, causing nerve damage, and paralyzing his legs.

“Honestly, I was pretty devastated,” he said. “I definitely cried.”

The spinal injury was so bad that George spent five years in a wheelchair. Doctors told him he would not walk again.

“I got a punching bag and I beat the living crap out of that thing,” George said. “I literally demolished it because I was so angry, and I wanted to get out of that wheelchair so bad.”

But thanks to years of fiery determination, intensive physical therapy, and special braces for his lower legs, George is back in the saddle again. He briefly returned to motocross racing, but another injury sidelined him for good.

While he can’t ride dirt bikes anymore, he considers El Tour de Tucson his next great challenge.

This weekend, he will be racing in the 42-mile route. But in the future, he plans to participate in the longer routes, which run over 100 miles long.

“I want to start working my way up,” he said. “And I’d like to be able to eventually do the full race.”

For someone who has broken more than 50 bones in his body from various biking accidents, George is proving that the sport hasn’t broken his spirit, but only strengthened it.

“I can’t run or do anything like that anymore,” he said. “So cycling is something that’s really, really special to me.”

And he hopes to encourage other athletes with injuries or disabilities to never stop reaching for the goals, no matter their physical limitations.

“They can still be active, and they can still do the stuff they love,” he added. “You don’t have to be in a wheelchair because there’s all kinds of different things you can do to make your body excel.”

For more information on El Tour de Tucson:

http://www.pbaa.com/!ETT/ETThome.html

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Web: www.georgehammel.com

George Hammel’s love of motocross began in 1990. For many years George raced nationwide, winning numerous races and championships nationwide. In 1998 George was racing his first professional national at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA., when the unthinkable happened, he made a mistake coming down a high speed hill and hit a jump with too much speed ejecting him over 80 feet through the air and landing on his feet, compressing his body, shattering his L1 vertebrae, breaking both lower portions of his legs, both his arms, his pelvis, and fracturing his skull. The surgeons fused and inserted plates, from the T12 to the L2, furthermore, he was told he’d be a paraplegic for the duration of his life and of course, never walk again.

Determined to not only walk, but to compete again in motocross, George spent numerous years doing physical therapy, in which he regained some movement in his upper legs. Over the span of 5 years, he was able to start walking with the assistance of forearm crutches, and in the span of 7 years, walk on his own (with a large limp and the support of AFO lower leg braces). With a strong will power, he learned to walk again and started riding a bicycle as well as began riding motocross.

It has been a long and difficult journey and even after breaking 54 different bones throughout his racing career, and through huge leaps, George was able to fulfill his passion and achieve his dream, he won a Gold metal at the 2009 Motocross Extremity Games (www.extremitygames.com), next he competed in the X Games (www.xgames.com) in the Super X Adaptive event.

Last year, while racing motocross, he broke his back for the 3rd time, he burst the T11 vertebrae. Dr. Eric Sipos, an extraordinary knowledgable and skilled neurosurgeon, was able to perform the rebuilding of the vertebrae without having to insert extra metal or fusions, so as not to impede with the previous 1998 surgery. Unfortunately, this time, Hammel was told he would be unable to ride motocross again due to the weakness of the vertebras in his back. However with George’s strength of character, he began riding road bicycles (without modifications), and with this, spiked Hammel’s competitive edge.

This is the first time George will compete in the Tour de Tucson. Hammel hopes he can motivate others whose lives have been affected by spinal cord or other injuries. He will compete in the 42 mile portion of the Tour this year, and we expect to see Hammel going further and further in the future.

 

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