‘Girl on a Bike’ Finds Salvation Astride a Harley-Davidson

Influencer is in training for her first two enduro races.

You might love your Harley-Davidson, but for one British sports enthusiast it goes further; her hog is quite literally her salvation. After surviving a major, life-changing accident, riding Harleys with her husband while sharing her exploits and journey to recovery with the world has helped her to deal with the major alterations she’s had to make in her lifestyle.

Put more simply, for Vanessa Ruck, owning a Harley has given her life purpose — and per an article in her local Oxford Mail newspaper, it seems, some very big plans indeed for her future.

Prior to the accident, Ruck was clearly an athletic individual who lived life to the full. She enjoyed extreme sports like snowboarding, skydiving and kite surfing, and even cycled to and from work rather than driving. It was while doing just this in March 2014 that a stranger’s car ran a red light, and her life changed in a heartbeat.

Ruck smashed into the vehicle’s side at 15 mph, and her body bore the brunt of that impact. Her right shoulder was the worst injury, rapidly swelling to twice its normal size. She’d also damaged her right knee and hip, and dislocated a finger as well. And there began her very long journey to recovery: 13 months off work, six operations including a full shoulder reconstruction and four hip surgeries, and endless different therapies tried as she battled constant pain and fought to recover.

No longer able to manage the challenging bike ride to work, Ruck bought her first bike, a Suzuki Bandit GSF600 Streetfighter, in the hopes of making the journey more maneageable. A few months later on a belated Texan honeymoon with her husband, who had been deployed to Afghanistan with the RAF shortly after their wedding, she rented a pair of Harleys for an afternoon exploring Route 66.

As their newfound passion bloomed, that afternoon adventure quickly turned into a five-day, 1,000-mile epic from Wichita Falls, TX to the famous Midpoint Cafe west of Amarillo and back, with a detour to see Palo Duro National Park along the way.

As Ruck put it herself, the trip was a “world of enjoyment that required minimal physical demand, something that would bring adventure to our worlds [despite] my injuries”. Smitten by the experience, the Rucks became first-time Harley-Davidson owners within weeks of their return to the UK.

Some three years later after her third surgery, Ruck started her Girl on a Bike photo blog on Instagram as “something positive to channel my energy into.” A website followed in early 2018, sharing not only the challenges, ups and downs she faced on her road to recovery, but also pain management tips for others in a similar situation, as well as bike and gear reviews and DIY tips.

Perhaps the most interesting articles, though, are in the Bike Adventures section of the site, where she recounts her two-wheeled exploits on trips to far-flung places like Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine and more. These days, she has three bikes in her stable: A Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob and Forty-Eight Sportster, plus a two-stroke KTM.

Both the site and Ruck’s following have grown with amazing speed ever since, powered on their way by her inspirational story. As of this writing, she has nearly 60,000 followers on Instagram, and has launched profiles on Facebook and YouTube as well. She’s also come to the attention of Harley-Davidson, with a profile and roadtrip writeup appearing in the Winter 2018 issue of HOG Magazine for the EMEA region, as well as Canadian, Latin American and Brazilian editions.

But it seems Ruck has even more inspiring plans for her future. As detailed in the Oxford Mail article, Ruck is now in training for her first two motorbike races. Later this month, she plans to enter the third round of the ACU British Extreme Enduro Championship at the H20 Enduro track in the Welsh village of Selattyn, and in July she plans to follow up at the Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye in Romania.

As for the future, Ruck continues to prove that she’s not afraid to face down a challenge. She tells the Oxford Mail that she has her sights set firmly on the motorcycle class at the Dakar Rally. We wish her the very best of luck and look forward to seeing more of her two-wheeled exploits from around the world on her website and social media feeds!