Friends of a Denver cyclist who was injured during El Tour de Tucson in November are attempting to raise $10,000 to pay for an air ambulance flight from Tucson to Denver.
Joe Neer went down early on the 109-mile route when his wheel got stuck in a crack in the travel lane on Mission Road.
Check out the excerpt from the donation page:
Most, if not all of us reading this know Joe Neer. Married to salt-of-the-earth and number one supporter Lise for 9 years, an incredibly talented personal chef, and maybe you know that Joe likes bikes. Boy, does he like bikes!
There are few who will happily and readily proclaim themselves as a member of the “Frozen Water Bottle” cycling group (subgroup of the Denver Bicycle Touring Club) who are brave, tough and just crazy enough to pedal in weather intolerable to most, nor are there many who can rattle off a half dozen bicycle organizations that they’re actively involved with. Take a century route to get a donut in Evergreen, CO that anyone else could drive in 35 miles? Hell yeah, Joe is ON IT! Grab a coffee in Pinecliffe on the bike? You bet. Ride instead of drive? Any time. Ride for the love of riding? Step aside sister because Joe loves riding.
Which is why we’re reading this today. Joe’s love of hammering out the pedal strokes, accumulating an average of 6,000 miles a year, brought him once again to Tucson in November for the annual El Tour de Tucson. A familiar and easy course for Joe. Easy quickly turned to life threatening when he crashed, and was rushed to the hospital.
Brain injury, coma, ICU, ventilator, feeding tube, tracheostomy, pneumonia…. A battle lost by countless others is turning into the victory of Joe’s life as he has come out of his coma and is stable enough to begin rehabilitation soon.
GO JOE!
A subsequent battle now begins with the mounting bills. One of which is for Angel MedFlight Worldwide Air Ambulance who brought Joe and Lise back to Denver on Dec. 15th and is not covered by insurance. A ~$10,000 flight that was necessary to get them both back home.
If you are interested in donating, click here to be taken to the donation page.
Thanks for the coverage of this… hopefully they can get some good contributions. I saw a few accidents during El Tour this year, and had wondered about the status of some of the folks…. had no idea anyone was hurt this seriously… just don’t remember seeing it reported.
[…] on the El Tour de Tucson cyclist injured during the ride. Friends of injured El Tour rider seeking donations for medical bills It’s a sad statement on our society that a person injured in a wreck that was not his fault […]