LINO LAKES—In a matter of seconds, everything can change. That was the case for 37-year-old Marsha L. Taylor.

Taylor, a bicycling guru and McDonald’s manager, had just gotten back home from the U.S. Tour and decided to take a short ride, when suddenly things went sour. “I was riding down 72^nd Street almost to South Boulevard when a car hit me from behind and sent me flying off my bike,” said Taylor. “That’s all I remember until I was in the hospital.”

Taylor sustained many injuries including: a mild concussion, a broken neck, six broken ribs, a broken arm and a broken pelvis. The doctors at Mercy Hospital were worried about her condition because there were so many bones broken. “The broken neck concerned them the most,” said Taylor. One doctor told Taylor that is was a miracle she wasn’t paralyzed.

Recovery was the next step for Taylor, but it didn’t go well. She explained that things just got worse while doing rehabilitation. The doctors found some internal injuries; a perforated intestine and liver and gall bladder damage as well. The internal damages caused her skin to turn orange and her mother called her a “Halloween” pumpkin. The recovery time doubled from two months-to-four months and Taylor still goes to the rehabilitation facility three times every week.

Taylor’s attitude towards bicycling has not changed stating, “No. I still want to ride. If I could, I’d be out there right now, but it’s hard to ride a bike when you have to use crutches. If you take precautions and are careful, bicycling is pretty safe.” The major precaution is to wear a helmet at all times while on a bicycle, “It probably saved my life this time,” she said.

Taylor has been riding since college and started riding seriously after she graduated. She got into the sport mainly to kill time between job interviews and to keep in shape. Taylor rode roughly 3,500 miles this past year; riding across not only Minnesota, but the whole country. The sport has turned into a major part of her life saying that, “I can’t imagine what my life would be like without bicycling.”