Brook’s Story: How a Flying Kiwi made a comeback to the top
Brook Macdonald is sitting on his bike at the top of the Hawke’s Bay Mountain Bike Trail and pauses for a moment – he’s been dreaming of this day for the past six weeks.
On this fine and cool Hawke’s Bay morning, the local has a million things racing through his mind: his surgery, the physio, learning to walk again, the tears and heartache of a dream seemingly gone, the agony of his crash and the daily grind of his intense rehabilitation to get back here.
There’s no fear in his mind, just pure childlike excitement – he’s back where he belongs.
“That first time back on my bike in the forest, it was the greatest feeling in the world,” says the Red Bull professional rider in his typical laid-back manner.
“Fear was the last thing on my mind to be honest. After what I’ve been through, I thought there would be some lingering fear and doubt but there never has been. I just couldn’t wait.”
That day was only six weeks after Brook suffered a broken back which looked to end his professional mountain biking career and change the course of his life.
Read the full article.
ACC: April 22, 2021