Daredevil woman defies all odds as she competes in motorbike rally seven years on from car accident

Vanessa Ruck, Portsmouth graduate for international business studies, was hit by a car who went through a red light in 2014 which affected her physical and mental well being.

After being admitted to hospital, she was assured that she had suffered bruising only and was discharged soon after, but as time went on, and Vanessa was in chronic pain, she took her health into her own hands and went to see numerous specialists.

She had to have seven reconstructive surgeries on her hip and shoulder, as well as being diagnosed with multiple mental health disorders and suffering fear of the road.

Before her accident, Vanessa, 35, was a physically fit woman who would cycle to work daily, go waterboarding, surfing and would go to the gym every week.

Vanessa said: ‘Before the accident, you probably would have called me an adrenaline junkie.’

‘If you had told me six or seven years ago that in a few years’ time and so many surgeries later, that I’d be racing motorbikes, I probably would have choked on my drink.’

In 2016, during her recovery from one of her surgeries, where she was bedridden, Vanessa woke up one day with the idea of getting on a dirt bike and with months of determination and rehabilitation, she was finally able to saddle up and take to the road with her bike and conquer her fear.

After a traumatic past, Vanessa has now defied all odds and has completed the Dinaric Rally, which is a tough motorbike race across Croatia and Bosnia, and she came 37 in the ranking.

Vanessa, who still suffers with chronic pain, also took part in the Tunisia Desert Challenge in April, where she came 36 in the ranking out of 55 who took part.

She was the first woman to enter the competition on a motorcycle and she said that the challenge was the most ‘challenging’ thing she has done.

She added: ‘I’ll never fully escape my past, but I sure will find ways to adapt, to get rid of my own excuses and fight on. I’ll never run again, but hey, who needs to run when you have a motorcycle.’