Cycling put me in coma but I won't give up
- Published
Allan Beckett was in a coma in 2016 - now he plans to tackle a 240km race
When Allan Beckett woke from a coma, he was unable to understand the meaning of certain idioms such as "rush hour" - which for a long-distance cyclist was a little too ironic for comfort.
The 41-year-old from Glasgow says it was as though well-known phrases had been wiped from his memory following a road accident in 2016.
He was told that while pedalling down a slope on Polnoon Street in Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire, his bike crashed. Beyond that details are scarce.
The impact left him out cold for three days with a head injury, while his pregnant wife Nicola visited him in hospital. He still can't remember several weeks of his life surrounding the collision - but otherwise, he says he is fighting fit.
"There were no witnesses," said Allan. "I don't really know anything - whether it was a mistake or mechanical."
Allan has done a number of long distance cycles including the length of the UK - from Dunnet Head to Lizard Point
Around three months later, having physically recovered, Allan took his bike back to the crash site to tackle another run down the hill - and crashed again.
He said: "I hit a pothole I couldn't avoid, it was so bad it knocked my handle bars out of alignment.
"It gave me a fright, but I did it a third time. People do give me odd looks, but I went back to get my confidence back."
'Riding through pain'
Allan has tried countless different sports from snowboarding to archery, but started endurance racing in 2014.
He has attempted a number of long distance rides including the entire length of the UK - a 270-mile cycle from Dunnet Head to Lizard Point.
A torn ligament in his leg, broken arms and ankles, a broken back and a fractured chin are just some of the injuries he has suffered because of sport - but he remains unflappable.
The year after his coma, he was back on a mountain bike when he crashed on ice and broke two ribs, yet continued to cycle a further 50km.
Be it fearlessness or an appetite for danger, Allan is now preparing to tackle the Tour of Flanders in Belgium - a 260km route with 18 cobbled climbs, notorious for their difficulty.
The terrain causes a terrible pain that Allan likens to breaking his arm all over again.
He said: "It's a shaky pain you feel through your wrists, hands, legs, undercarriage, teeth and head - it'll take me about nine hours.
"The 2017 crash was a bad one since it was my first real crash after the coma - I will admit it did bring back a lot of bad memories, I was a lot more vocal than I would usually be following a crash in terms of distress.
"So when I say that the Ronde Van Vlaanderen will hurt, I am speaking from a position of knowledge of riding through pain."
Niki Terpstra became the first Dutchman since Adrie van der Poel in 1986 to win the race last year
Allan claims that in addition to keeping him physically and mentally fit, cycling also makes him a better businessman.
A chartered accountant and director at Black and Lizars, he often uses cycling to clear his mind and bring what he calls a "better flow" into his day.
He is a firm believer in the Japanese principle kaizen - which is to do with continuous improvement.
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He said: "A former colleague and I were struggling with how to get round an issue that affected the business and he jokingly said you should get on your bike and go for a ride.
"So I did - I went out for two hours and came up with a concept - the guys thought 'that'll work'.
"The thing I love to practice is flow, how to live your life as well as you can and how to read the situation around you.
"That's what you need to do on the bike - to do those distances you need to flow, you can't constantly stop and change your energy output.
"Think of when you approach a roundabout in a car, do you speed up then hammer on the brakes or do you ease off and glide through?"
Allan and his son Finn on a bike for the first time
In light of his coma, Allan says he does not take as many risks in the name of sport, although his dedication to cycling has raised an eyebrow among friends and colleagues.
But wife Nicola and two-year-old son Finn are fully behind him as he sets off for Belgium.
"I don't think it's an addiction," he said. "I believe there are benefits of setting yourself challenges mentally and physically.
"If you have something that's positive for you then why wouldn't you do it?
"My mental health degrades quite significantly when I'm not exercising; it's just an overall feeling, the lack of space and lack of reflection. That's the key thing about being on a bike."
- Attribution
- Published1 April 2018
- Published18 October 2018
