A new UAR HERO!!!!

I'd like to welcome Coreen Puetz to the small, elite group of Urban Assault Ride heroes! UAR heroes know what life is all about. Maybe they can pull a big wheel back flip, maybe they spread the gospel of bike love, or in Coreen's case - experienced a scary bike on car rumble (and lived to tell).
Here's how it went down in her words:
Hello Sharon my name is Coreen and this is my UAR story.

I rode the UAR with my soon to be roommate in 2008 in Madison, WI and had a blast! Ty (my roommate) and I decided if we could get through the ride we would be good roommates and we did and we were.

Prior to the ride a was a fair weather biker. If it was a nice day and within 7 miles I would bike it. Otherwise I had a car. What the UAR taught me was I don't need a car in Madison. That day we went from east to far west and back again. It was no problem. After the ride I bought myself some pretty hard core panniers and some adverse weather gear, and from that point on I was cyclist. And I loved my new identity.

I don't need to tell you there was no UAR in Madison last year, and I seriously contemplated riding in Minneapolis, but my less than stellar sense of direction stopped me.

Then on September 17, 2009 at about 7pm I was biking home from work. I had a green walk signal and the SUV that inevitably ran me over had a "no turn on red" red light. The truck ran over my left calf. I was in between the front a rear tires when he (thankfully) stopped. My pedal impaled my calf in 3 different places. My MCL, ACL, PCL, patella and meniscus were all torn or damaged. My ankle was sprained, my hips were in the wrong place, my left leg was now shorter than my right one. And worst of all my bike .... it was ruined. (I still get a little weepy over my bike).

I did not break a bone. I did not require any surgery. I am already more functional then the doctors originally thought I would ever be again and I am still healing. This has been attributed to the shape I was in prior to the accident. Because I was literally biking everywhere (thanks in part to the 2008 UAR) I was part super human.

This years ride in Madison is exactly 1 year and 9 days after my accident, and I cannot wait to ride it! Just the fact that I will be physically able to is a huge victory for me.


Thanks,
Coreen Puetz

Coreen - in our eyes, you truly are a hero! Unfortunately, most riders have a rendezvous with a motorized vehicle at some point in their riding career. Luckily, you escaped and are ready to ride in the UAR again! We're also really happy that the UAR showed you how great bikes are for transportation - in Madison or in any other city. And most of all, we're so happy that you're able to pedal again at all!

Coreen will receive a UAR Care Package with some great things to help her get back on the road. With the support from our friends at New Belgium Brewing, Specialized, and Timbuk 2, your next rides will be way better than your encounter with that nasty SUV.

IF YOU HAVE A STORY THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE (and it doesn't have to be about surviving a bike-on-car encounter;) LET SHARON KNOW. If you're selected to be our next UAR hero, you'll be profiled in our eNewsletter and you'll win lots of great cycling gear!

BE SAFE OUT THERE!!!!