Wings For Life

I like using social media as a tool, a ledge of a sort, for diving into the unexplored and different, diverse.

Last night I was searching for something on Facebook when status by Danny MacAskill caught my attention. As day was already marked by cycling and love for bikes I went in and watched the video he shared. Do take 6 minutes and let yourself be amazed:

Road bike party 2 

First I started to watch this alone and after a few seconds I called my daughter from another room to come and join me. We watched it without words, jaws hanging open and amazed, silence broken only by our cries of joy and amazement. 

Then we watched it again. And then again, commenting on stunts.

Fireworks of joy with the experience. Sharing that pleasure. Pure awesome.

Watching RBP 2 behind the scenes was just a logical step. And there, a surprise. I’m not as well versed in cycling lore to recognize Martyn Ashton’s name or to know what happened to him, so when he started talking in Behind the scenes feature I recognized only the harness and just froze in place. I watched the clip intently. And it was endearing as much as educational.

When he says; “…my day job…” it is hard not to flinch, and, word by word, I learned that this is a guy, a cycling legend, that fell and broke his spine while in the middle of Road Bike Party 2 project. After he got his bearings he picked up the phone and got Danny MacAskill and ChrisAkrigg to ride out the rest of the project.

Watching him talk, so positive and down-to-earth is completely disarming. “And I remember when I landed I was relieved. As bad as it was I thought; whoa, that was close, I nearly died…” he says and if there was ever such a complete personification of everything I hold valuable and exquisite in personal conduct this is it.

At the end of the clip he talks a bit about Wings for life and it sounds like something I would like to know more about. And I go online and google it and it is a Spinal Cord Research Foundation. I spend few hours poking and probing about and reading references and articles. I go over and through their excellent webpage that even has company boards overview! They even have grant application info on their page! As I work in clinical research for 7 years now I know a bullshit when I see it and this is not it. This is real stuff. This is a process that will one day give us the means to walk after spinal cord injury.

Go and donate, support the process. Go here: