At the beginning of 2018, Paul Basagoitia, former professional Slopestyle and Freeride Mountain Bike athlete, found himself less than 3 years out from a life-changing spinal cord injury suffered in competition at Red Bull Rampage, once again standing in front of a bike. Despite the very dim initial odds of ever walking again, Paul had managed to get back on his feet through determination and rigorous physical therapy - now walking with the assistance of a cane. A flurry of excitement and terror filled his emotion at the prospect of riding again. For the majority of his life, he would have looked at his bike seeking to be the very best in his field. This time, the thought shifted to, “Can I actually ride this thing?”
If unfamiliar with the details of Paul’s story, the HBO Documentary
Any One of Us is an in-depth glimpse into Paul’s life immediately after his injury at Rampage, and the many harsh realities of spinal cord injuries.
For Paul, the thought of ever riding a bike again seemed absurd in his post-injury world. If you can hardly feel your feet, how can you ride a bike? How would the pedal stroke work? Will your feet stay on the pedals? What happens if you crash? It is worth it? The inner debate raged, with a clear answer seemingly evident: No. Not safe, not possible, not worth it. Carrying on with life and recovery removed from his greatest passion in life, as well as from the mountain bike community he had been so deeply connected to, seemed inevitable.
The persistent itch to ride only remained, and he found himself finally coasting downhill, feeling again the joy of riding a bike. Pedaling being the real trick, having spotty feeling in his lower legs and feet making him feel unstable and insecure about riding. When a friend presented him with the opportunity to try an electric mountain bike, he found a greater stability and confidence in his control of the machine, and a wide door of possibilities reopened.
In “Back On The Bike,” Paul shares his journey returning to mountain biking and his new future.
Enjoying the ride on a perfect day above Lake Tahoe Paul riding his local trails in Reno, NV Cautiously pushing his limits on technical climbs, pedal assist making all the difference. Catching air and riding with buddy, Kyle Warner The sun sets on a long day of riding, a brief rest until continuing again tomorrow. And the ride goes on. Brought to you by
SR SUNTOUR. With special thanks to
Envelo and
Park City Bike Demos.
Riders: Paul Basagoitia and Kyle Warner
Videography and Photography: Hoshi Yoshida and JP Gendron
Video Editing: Whyex Productions
Yea the simple message is: it’s great to see Paul on a bike, damn it’s amazing and we should all be happy for him, and humanity in general. Ehat a bloody Warrior. No doubt about that. His smile on the bike, the bike going sideways, it’s touching.
Simple message nr2, triggered by the first comment: it is fkng stupid to justify general trend based on extremely, EXTREMELY limited number of folks who use these because they cannot use regular MTBs due to injury/ handicap.
Simple message nr3 it has nothing to do with being pro or anti e-bikes - these two things, Paul and ebikes are unrelated. Let’s not add virtue to something that in it’s most common usage has nothing to do with a virtue, rather reaping easy rewards. Which is fkng fine!
No middle ground...just all in on ebikes on all trails.
I just wanted to read that he was happy to get mobility back, not get the ebike preach
Also: I know general mobility off the bike is a chore for you... but you still look damned good and smooth on the bike. You can still send it!
Didn't realize you live/ride in my local area, and hope to see you out on Peavine trails/Tahoe trails.
Regarding e-bikes in the Tahoe area, there apparently is a lawsuit that is trying to rescind Forest Service approval on many of the trails. No matter what one's take on this, I do believe that a medical waiver should always be available for those who have a valid reason to need the assistance.
Also for those interested in Paul's role in the documentary "Any One Of Us": www.redbull.com/us-en/theredbulletin/paul-basagoitia-any-one-of-us
Haven't seen it, but will definitely watch this soon.
Let’s ignore the opinionated haters, great tool and eye opening use of an ebike, and fantastic to see SR Suntour recognising Bass’es value and sponsoring him.
I’m sure most of us will be following future stories put out by him.
Right on!
Like him, I’m fortunate to still be able to ride. His story is always an inspiration to me and I’d love to be able to tell him that and that I’m so glad he’s back on the bike doing what her loves most.
So great to see you riding again! You rock!
good to see his progress
Keep on keeping