![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_JS378437127.jpg\")
Stephen suffered fractures in 12 places.<\/p>\n“It was like being stabbed from the inside every time I tried to breathe… I could feel blood pooling around my head.”<\/p>\n
08:29, 22 Aug 2025Updated 08:33, 22 Aug 2025<\/p>\n
Stephen suffered fractures in 12 places.<\/p>\n
A cyclist<\/a> who fractured 12 bones and suffered a brain bleed<\/a> in a horror crash in Spain months after another serious accident in the UK said both experiences made him \u201crethink his life\u201d.<\/p>\n Stephen Moon, from north London, had been riding bikes<\/a> \u201csince five years old\u201d and had even taught others to cycle, but was left \u201cbaffled and embarrassed\u201d after being involved in two major collisions within 13 months.<\/p>\n The first came during the RideLondon 100<\/a>, a closed-road cycling event in March 2023, an accident which left him with multiple fractures, a punctured lung and a broken collarbone.<\/a><\/p>\n In the second, in northern Spain in April 2024, the cyclist<\/a> hit a bump on a mountain road at high speed and smash into the tarmac, leaving him once again with multiple fractures, and with cerebrospinal fluid \u2013 the clear, colourless liquid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord – leaking from his nose.<\/p>\n Stephen, 68, has now been inspired to run the New York Marathon in honour of friend and personal hero Sir Chris Hoy<\/a>, the six-time Olympic champion track cyclist.<\/p>\n \u201cI could feel warm blood pooling around my head,\u201d he told PA Real Life. \u201cSomething was running from my nose \u2014 later I learned it was cerebrospinal fluid. I felt like I was dreaming, but I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n The retired CEO of a sports nutrition business<\/a>, who had worked 60\u201370 hours a week since he was 16, said he is now looking on both crashes as a wake-up call.<\/p>\n \u201cLife is too short to spend so much time under constant pressure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Stephen\u2019s first accident<\/a> in 2023 happened during the RideLondon 100, when a rider on an e-bike lost control and knocked another cyclist off his bike.<\/p>\n The fallen rider landed in front of him and Stephen hit him, leaving him with multiple fractures <\/a>\u2013 10 rib fractures, three pelvic fractures and two breaks in his collarbone \u2013 and a punctured lung, and he spent 12 days in intensive care.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like being stabbed from the inside every time I tried to breathe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI had tubes inserted to drain fluid from my lungs and was in hospital for weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Determined to recover, Stephen returned to cycling and resumed his active lifestyle<\/a> and within three months, he was back on his bike and travelling abroad to ride, but in April 2024, in northern Spain, disaster struck again.<\/p>\n He was riding downhill on a mountain road when he hit a bump at speed and was thrown violently <\/a>onto the tarmac.<\/p>\n \u201cI could feel blood pooling around my head,\u201d he said. \u201cSomeone was telling me, \u2018Stay with me, bro,\u2019 but I could barely focus.\u201d<\/p>\n Medics<\/a> found he had fractured bones in 12 places \u2013 his collar bone, eight ribs, and his hand in three places and he also suffered with a serious brain bleed, and had cerebrospinal fluid leaking from his nose \u2014 a gravely serious injury.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been riding on two wheels since I was five years old, and I\u2019ve taught people to cycle, so to end up in hospital twice in such a short space of time was both baffling and embarrassing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Those back-to-back experiences, he said, were a turning point. \u201cLife is too short to spend so much time under constant pressure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Stephen stepped back from full-time work in October 2024 and focused more on his health<\/a>, relationships, and enjoying the present moment.<\/p>\n Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.<\/p>\n You’ll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.<\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.<\/p>\n All you have to do is click here if you’re on mobile<\/a>, select ‘Join Community’ and you’re in!<\/p>\n If you’re on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click ‘Join Community’.<\/p>\n We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like.<\/p>\n To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAfter the first accident, I decided I was going to be positive and kind to everyone I met, from the hospital staff to the woman delivering my sandwiches,\u201d he said. \u201cThat mindset has stayed with me ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of his rehabilitation<\/a>, Stephen began running, he trained with a coach who specialises in working with older athletes, running three times a week and adding two strength-training sessions.<\/p>\n \u201cAt my age, recovery is just as important as training, your body tells you when it\u2019s ready and when it\u2019s not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSome days I can barely make a few kilometres, and others I run my longest distances yet. Sometimes both can happen on the same day.\u201d<\/p>\n Although one of his knees no longer fully straightens, Stephen has learned to work with his body\u2019s limitations.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing what you can achieve with persistence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He had planned to run the 2024 New York City Marathon, but his injuries<\/a> forced him to defer.<\/p>\n Now, with his fitness restored<\/a>, he is preparing for the 2025 race in November.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve survived two major accidents, that makes you tougher than you sometimes feel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I get nervous, anyone would, but I focus on what\u2019s in front of me rather than worrying about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephen is running the New York City Marathon as part of the Tour De 4, a charity challenge founded by Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy<\/a> to raise funds for cancer research.<\/p>\n He first met Sir Chris through work and says their friendship has been a huge source of inspiration.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey say you should never meet your heroes, but in his case it\u2019s absolutely not true,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s just as genuine and encouraging in person as you\u2019d hope.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_JS378437451.jpg\")
Stephen said the experiences made him “rethink his life”. <\/p>\n![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_JS378437159.jpg\")
Stephen had been riding bikes since he was five years old.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755415208_208_0_WACOMMUNITYQR3.jpg\")
Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!<\/p>\n![\"MADRID,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2_2025-Laureus-World-Sport-Awards-Madrid.jpg\")
Sir Chris won his first Olympic gold medal in 2004(Image: Eurasia Sport Images, Getty Images)<\/p>\n