Winning the popular vote by a landslide, Cornwall-based Casey has shown incredible courage and determination since she crashed while downhill riding and broke her spine
We’ve arranged to meet Casey at her home in Cornwall on a classic October day of mixed rain and sun. She opens the door with the classic smile we’ve seen so many times on Instagram, and her dog Roxy excitedly greets us like old friends. We haven’t told Casey she’s our first ever Rider of the Year, yet – she thinks we’re meeting up with all the finalists. But we’re here to get to know her and find out more about her journey to becoming one of the most inspirational people in the mountain biking community – although her reach goes far beyond our sport.
Casey is warm and welcoming, and instantly makes us feel at ease. We’ve seen her around online a fair bit but never actually met her, so it’s a pleasure to finally do so. The walls of her home are scattered with pictures of happy times, with Jay her partner featuring heavily. One picture that catches our eye is of Jay and Casey riding together, with Casey in the lead on her adaptive bike. She tells us it was her first race on the machine. In fact, it was the first adaptive downhill race in the country (to her knowledge) – at the very location where she had her accident.
Everything changes
Back in 2021, a typical day of riding bikes with friends took a turn no one could’ve expected. The crash happened on a drop Casey had done before. However, this time, she went over the bars, landing on her head, and immediately knew this fall was different. The impact resulted in a broken back, leaving her paralysed from around the navel downwards. Casey lost muscle control in her core and down to her legs, becoming a paraplegic. In the aftermath of the crash, she developed a strong aversion to mountain biking. Understandably, she unfollowed all related content on Instagram, fully distancing herself from that world.
As many of us can relate, mountain biking is more than just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. It can easily become your whole identity and fill your life with friends, a community, adventures and so much more. So, when Casey had her accident, she felt like she lost herself. She tells us: “It’s all I’d known for such a long time, because I’d ridden bikes since the age of 15. When it first happened, it was kind of an identity thing, like, ‘If this isn’t me anymore, then who will I be now?’”
Finding her identity (again)
It was a combination of encouragement from Mart
