Doing it Scared - Returning to Track after Accident & Injury

Hi, I’m Claire! I just had my first track day back after injury - and I was absolutely terrified. I didn’t come back because I stopped being scared, I came back because I decided fear wasn’t going o make the decision for me.

I’ve had a strange relationship with bikes over the past few years. The love never went away, but my life was always so hectic and I think I just got lost in that and forgot how passionate I once was. I sold my bike, which was my absolute pride and joy: and got caught up in other things for quite a while. I liked to blame it on factors that were external to me, but the truth is I had just lost my fire.

That was until Jaz started dragging me out to Morgan Park: and other track days to show me what I was missing. It didn’t take her long to convince me to become a part of it again. So I started looking for another bike, one the exact same as the one I had sold because I regretted that so deeply. By some miracle, I managed to find MY bike and buy it back for what I had sold it for.

I’d booked my first track day back, I was excited and nervous but I was so ready to return. Then, my whole life was changed in an instant. Two days before the track day I had booked, I got on my roommate's road bike to go to a Girls on Track photoshoot. I was only five minutes from home when a car pulled out in front of me from a side street leaving me no time to react, causing me to collide into the side of it. My pelvis was broken on impact because I had hit the tank with such force, my bladder was pushed up into my abdomen. I couldn’t move my right leg, I couldn’t walk or get out of bed and I was in so much pain that the hospital had me on enough pain killers that I was asleep most of the time.

It was so much more than healing quickly and carrying on, and that was the worst possible thing for someone like me. I live my life a mile a minute, and being forced to be still was the worst thing I could think of! There is a lot that went into my healing journey, of course the physical side was tough, but the mental side was worse. Getting back on the road, even in a car and feeling my body remember what happened. I didn’t know whether I would ever be healed enough to get back to what I loved. Of course, I also wondered if I would be the same rider when I did return. I felt as though the injury took away my identity as a rider, I went from being able to ride a motorcycle well to having difficulty with the simple task of walking. These are things we normallytake for granted. I was living in fear that my body may permanently limit something that mattered so much to me.

The important thing is that I didn’t let fear control me. I decided almost 12 weeks to the day after the accident that it was time to return to what I loved. 

I want to be clear, there wasn’t a magical morning that I woke up fearless. I was scared right up to the time my tyres hit the track, but I did it anyway. It wasn’t about proving I was invincible, or getting a fast lap time, I simply needed to show myself that I could still do what I loved. I went back because I refused to let one day define the rest of my relationship with riding - the thing I am so passionate about.

I cannot explain the feeling that washed over me when I left pit lane. It was like everything went silent, all I could hear was the sound of my bike and my breath in the helmet. The fear was gone after the third turn, of course I was slower and more cautious, but I remembered what it was like to feel so happy doing something I loved.

Now, I appreciate the mundane things - like putting my gear on, my hype girls in the pits, coming back in from a bad session frustrated (at least you got out there) and going home at the end of the day with a smile on my face.

Fear can be present and you can still make a decision. You don’t have to convince yourself nothing bad will happen, you can instead accept ‘something bad has happened before, and it might happen again, but I am choosing to ride anyway because it makes me feel alive.

Don’t get me wrong, I know the fear may come and go. Some things may not ever feel exactly the same - but I am back to doing what I love, and that’s enough for me. Before the crash, I thought bravery meant not being afraid. It taught me that bravery can simply mean being absolutely terrified and doing it anyway.

If you're in a similar position, just know that you don't have to be fearless to find your way back. Take your time, trust your recovery and remember that you don't have to be the same rider you were before. It's okay to start again, to take things slowly and to celebrate the small victories. Fear might still be there, but it doesn't have to make the decision for you. Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is give yourself the chance to rediscover what you love. 🩷

- Claire (@seeeingripple)
19th September, 2026