Pope says he could have lost his life
Byron Pope
Pope says that if it was not for his helmet, a safety precaution mandated for use by all cyclists, he could have lost his life upon impact. There is no certainty whether he will be fully recovered in time to defend his championship for the Krem New Year’s Cycling Classic six months from now. In fact, Pope may not be able to compete in the upcoming Commonwealth Games due to his injuries.
Byron Pope, Cyclist, Benny’s Megabytes
“It puts me really back because I was suppose to go to Scotland next month for the Commonwealth Games. I’m a part of the selection for Belize and I can’t [go], I can’t even pick up a bike and say go and ride maybe to Hattieville or to ride to go home because I’m in so much pain mein.”
Isani Cayetano
“Finally, is there an appeal on your part to either cyclists like yourself or to the motoring public to be cautious on the road, especially when you have athletes who are either training or participating in a race?”
Byron Pope
“Yes, I would want to appeal to my cycling body first, you know, guys when unnu di ride out deh please mein, just wear unnu helmet. I always stress that, that’s one of our rules on our team, wear your helmet because if I didn’t have on my helmet I could have died because I could remember my head hitting that truck first. And motorists, please just give us a little ten, fifteen, twenty seconds won’t hurt mein, we won’t live on the road. It’s just a little time we need to pass and to prepare because some drivers, some drivers respect us but some don’t because they say we are… we can’t win the Cross Country and thing. Some people handle you real bad but hey, I’m just thankful that I lived and able fi could talk to people and see people who love me and thanks to everybody who di support me and thing.”
In December of last year, twenty-two year old Geon Hanson was also critically injured when a commuter bus knocked him off his bicycle on the George Price Highway while training for the Krem New Year’s Day Cycle Classic on Christmas Eve.
