13 months ago Ryan Barnett was on top of the world. A beautiful and loving family, a great job, a happy go lucky attitude and superb cycling fitness. But a terrible accident in May 2008 turned his world upside down.

Slowtwitch: Just about a year ago you were run over by a landscaping vehicle while warming up for the Roswell Criterium. What do you remember of that day?

Ryan: Actually an electrician’s truck and trailer but yes it was 1 year on May 3rd. I was hit around 4pm but don’t remember anything past around 8 am that morning. It was on a Saturday and I came to the following Wednesday.

ST: You had severe spine and scull fractures among other injuries. Where are you currently in terms of your recovery?

Ryan: Well I am certainly lucky to be alive. My skull fracture came with a nice hematoma and my doctors are amazed that I made it through without any brain damage. They actually kept testing me over and over and seemed quite baffled that I was good mentally. Being paralyzed from the chest down made the broken ribs and cracked pelvis painless to deal with so that was good. In terms of my spinal injury I had a burst fracture at the T3 vertebrae which is about the mid chest level. My spinal chord was not punctured or cut so it gives me some room for improvement but it’s a slow process. A swollen spinal chord can take a couple of years to go down so my body is still in a state of change and healing after a year. At this point I have gotten some limited abdominal and lower back muscles working on the right side below the injury level and have started getting a little feeling at the deep muscle level in both legs so that is promising.

ST: How much time did you spend in the hospital in total?

Ryan: I was transferred to Shepherd Spinal Center about 4 days after my accident and was there a little less than 2 months and was sent home. I was lucky that I did well because most patients after discharge spend a month or so living near by and spending full days in therapy. I was back at Blue getting ready for Interbike less than 3 months post injury.

ST: Talk to us about the support you received from family and friends.

Ryan: The support from family and friends was overwhelming. I was so amazed to see words of support online and calls from all over the world. While in Shepherd I was visited by 5-10 people a day. With all the cyclists coming by after a while they would see the tell tale tan lines and point them straight to my room. It really helps keep you positive and focused on getting better to know you have so many people that have you in their thoughts and prayers.

ST: When did you start to race hand cycles?

Ryan: I did my first racing chair race 2 ½ months post injury. Although I was training on the hand cycle a good bit, I did not race it until the UCI stage race in Rome, GA the week of Twilight.

ST: What kind of experience has that been?

Ryan: Racing has certainly been therapy for the body and the mind. I raced bicycles for over 20 years and was in great shape looking forward to a lot of international races with the CAICO pro team and then my life took a drastic change that ended my sporting career as well as changed my life forever. My first thoughts were that sports were over even though my doctors thought I would be great at racing. I was more concerned with spending time with my wife and family to make up for all the travel I had done over the past years. However it was my wife Maricela that got me into the racing again when we went back to Shepherd to watch the Peachtree Road Race and attend the wheelchair race banquet. When the wheelchair racers came up the big hill she said I should be out there next year! About a week later I was in a racing chair doing a 10 mile push. It really helped me get back to feeling like my old self even though I was starting at the bottom of a new sport. There is a huge learning curve so that made it interesting even though I was slow. I mean you don’t go from having cyclist arms to being at the top of wheelchair sports immediately that is for sure! I also saw really fast improvement so only being able to get better makes it fun too. Amazingly I have also been taken care of better than some of the teams I raced for in the past. I have a contract with Shepherd Spinal Center for travel expenses and entry fees. I also made the US Ski Team’s developmental team for Nordic skiing after US Paralympics flew me all over the US skiing this winter so that was awesome.

ST: As a passionate cyclist and industry insider, where you surprised about the wheel chair and hand cycle technology?

Ryan: I really was. The racing chairs are really nice and have some really good cross over from the cycling industry in terms of wheels and tires but lacked the little touches like nice brake levers and calipers. The hand cycles for me were a huge let down. The prototype I was riding during my accident was a full carbon frame with a Campagnolo Record group and was weighing in at less than 15lbs complete. The first hand cycle I got on weighed close to 50lbs in aluminum and had low end mountain bike parts… ouch. The top of the line hand cycles are nicer but are still heavy and using 9 speed drive trains. I really believe its possible to get them in the 20lb range and have better components that would make them a more enjoyable experience to ride.

ST: What chair and hand cycle are you currently using?

Ryan: My everyday chair is a custom titanium chair by Ti Lite. It has Spinergy wheels and Tufo tubulars and is certainly a testament to my roadie heritage. It weighs about 22 lbs.

My racing chair is by Eagle Sports Chairs. It has Zipp 700c discs and a 20” Corima carbon front wheel. I also put a Ciamillo Zero G caliper and Paul Components lever on it. It is 20lbs.

I am riding a Quickie Shark hand cycle. I don’t have any pimp wheels for it and it has a SRAM X5 grouppo. It is weighing in at approximately 42lbs.

ST: Do you have a bunch of races lined up this year?

Ryan: I do have a good line up of racing. I am flying to Colorado soon for the Boulder Boulder and am certainly doing the Peachtree Road Race. I am also planning on going to the Grandma Marathon to try and get a good qualifying time for the bigger races. For hand cycling I am doing a few more of the national series races for US Handcyling as well as nationals. I am actually going to speak at press conference tomorrow for US Pro in Greenville as they are adding a hand cycle race to the event this year. I am also trying to get good enough in the swim so that I can do Buffalo Springs Half Ironman in Texas.

ST: So you might turn into a triathlete after all these years. How do you plan to train for Buffalo Springs?

Ryan: I will continue putting in good miles on the hand cycle and in the race chair like now. The swim is where I need the most work. It is really difficult because I have really bad spasms below the injury level. When I hit cool or cold water my hip flexors flip out and pull me into a jack knife position so I end up dragging anchor.

ST: Any other triathlons on the horizon for you after Buffalo Springs?

Ryan: If I can get my swim on par over the summer and feel strong enough for Buffalo Springs, Kona is certainly the goal. There are only two spots available for Kona in the hand cycle category though so it will be a tall order.

ST: This year you announced the hand cycle race at the Athens Twilight Criterium. How come you didn’t race this big event in your backyard?

Ryan: I didn’t race Twilight mainly because I was tired from doing the three day stage race in Rome that ended the day before. It was kind of bitter sweet to go back to Twilight since it is a race I grew up doing and the last race I did as a cyclist. Even though I wanted to race it, I also enjoyed just being able to relax and not have to deal with pre race routines and stress.

ST: Do you still follow bike racing?

Ryan: Of course! It is the most beautiful sport in the world.

ST: What about other sports?

Ryan: Since being involved with USA Triathlon when I was at Blue I started following Triathlon and especially ITU Olympic distance. I also started following Paralympic sports and really enjoyed the Paralympics in Beijing, especially the marathon. I know a couple of the guys that are at the top of the game in wheelchair marathons (Joshua George and Krige Schabort) so I enjoy watching their exploits until I can be up there throwing down with them! They are certainly my inspiration.

ST: You no longer work as the marketing guy at Blue Competition Cycles. What are you doing now?

Ryan: Right now I am still looking for work and training more. I would like to stay in the cycling industry if possible so I am trying to network as much as possible.

ST: Tell us about the foods you like.

Ryan: My wife is from Veracruz, Mexico so I eat authentic Mexican cuisine 99% of the time. Its nothing like what you would find in a Mexican restaurant and is mainly fresh meats or seafood with fresh veggies, rice and black beans.

ST: What music do you listen to?

Ryan: Mainly Latin music. Salsa, bachata and reggaeton but also rap, R&B and classical.

ST: What was the last book you read?

Ryan: Game of Shadows (Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports ed)

ST: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Ryan: Having just competed in the London Paralympics.

ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?

Ryan: I am here to help anyone with a spinal chord injury or brain injury. It can be overwhelming to someone that gets rocked by a life changing event like this but life goes on and the support from our close knit community as well as friends and family makes all the difference. Therapeutic recreation is a huge part of the road to recovery as well so if someone needs help getting into wheelchair racing, hand cycling or skiing I would be more than honored to help.