The True Roots of Finish The Ride

Here we are again, about to host our 11th Annual Finish The Ride and Finish The Run Griffith Park. It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this now for 11 years. It’s incredible how much it’s grown in that time.

Many of you know the basic history of Finish the Ride, how I was hit cycling in Griffith Park in 2013, dragged nearly a quarter mile under a car onto and down the 5 Freeway. How it was a hit-and-run, and I lost my leg and nearly my life. How Finish The Ride started as an advocacy campaign on hit-and-run crimes to help make roads safer for everyone. For those who have been at a Finish The Ride event, you’ve heard me describe the story, and I’ve described the story every year since the first year. I’ve told the simple story so many times I can almost say it in my sleep (check with my wife, I likely do!)

Most of you don’t know that Finish The Ride, the deep roots of Finish The Ride, actually goes back to 1-2 days after I was hit. I was in intensive care at LAC+USC Hospital (now LA County General Hospital), and I was waking up from my first emergency surgery, where the doctors officially amputated what was left of my right leg.