Tauranga man makes second attempt at ride that left him hospitalised

Tauranga cyclist Jason Creswell will make a second attempt at the TransAmerican Trail ride almost a year after his serious accident. Photo / Supplied

Jason Creswell is about to make a second attempt at a ride across America after the first attempt ended with him waking up in a hospital bed.

It will be almost a year since Creswell, 36, was hit by a truck while cycling the TransAmerican Trail ride in the United States.

The Tauranga cyclist suffered nine fractured vertebrae, four fractured ribs, a punctured lung and a small brain haemorrhage following the accident last June.

On May 23, he will attempt to finish the ride for the second time.

"There is zero recollection of a lot of what happened last time, so the fear hasn't really been an issue, thankfully," Creswell said.

Having his adventure cut short last time and "coming out the other side" made Creswell determined to get back on the bike.

"I am not an overly emotional character these days, but I am sure I will be feeling something pretty special when I finally get to ride over the Golden Gate bridge," he said.

This time, Creswell will not start the ride in Colorado where he was hit and instead begin on the East Coast from Yorktown, Virginia - the official start of the Trans-America Trail.

He will bypass where the accident happened and make a detour to summit Pikes Peak and Denver where he will visit people he met during the last ride.

"I am really excited about getting back on the ride again. I will take every precaution I can to stay safe," he said.

Creswell left Tauranga in 2004 to live overseas and had planned cycling trips in Britain and the US as a "last hurrah" before moving back to Tauranga.

He started the TransAmerican Trail ride in on May 13, 2017, and had planned to finish in San Francisco on June 30, 2017.

But on day 25 of the ride, as he approached the highest point of the route at Hoosier Pass in Colorado, Creswell said an SUV crossed into the shoulder of the road and hit him from behind at 88km/h.

Creswell suffered multiple injuries and faced a $150,000 medical bill which his legal representative had submitted in a claim to Medicaid in the US and was waiting to know what was owing.

"Realistically there is no way I could ever settle the medical bills, so I'm hoping the lawyer gets a good result," Creswell said.

The 36-year-old had spent almost four months recovering in Tauranga before moving back to London and said he hoped to be back in Tauranga for good before this Christmas.

"My lower back still gives me grief if I don't stretch each day, but this is manageable," Creswell said. "My memory is not what it used to be ..."

"It was a wake-up call as to how much fitness I'd lost when I first started riding in a bunch again, but progress has been made."