Tracy Moseley Wants Your Help

Awareness of the risks of repeated head injuries is increasing in the mountain biking community, with big news such as Dave Mirra’s post-mortem diagnosis of CTE raising the profile of the potential long term consequences of crashes. However, while awareness of the causes and symptoms is improving, the treatments are still in their infancy. The brain is a complex thing, and doctors are still learning which treatments work, and how.

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EWS rider Lorraine Truong has suffered repeated head injuries, and is now experiencing daily pain and limitations as a result of these injuries, and her friends have rallied round to try and get her the treatment they hope will get her back on her feet – and her bike. We’ll let her friend and mentor, Tracy Moseley, take up the story here:

“Lorraine Truong burst onto the Enduro World Series race scene in 2013. Her flamboyant style on the bike caught my attention straight away. For someone so small, she could throw her bike around and had a lot more style than most of us girls out there!! She just looked good on her bike, maybe not always in control but always having maximum fun!

Lorraine just loved riding her bike, and the freedom and feelings that it gave her. Having come from an XC background, she already had steely determination and mental strength and was quickly making a mark on the Enduro World Series rankings. U23 Swiss XC Champion in 2011 then straight into the top 10 at the first ever EWS race in 2013.

Lorraine continued to improve at Enduro, never finishing out of the top 10 in 2014, and at the same time she was starting to have a go at a few Downhill races!

I really got to know Lorraine in 2014 and seeing a real potential in her I wanted to try and help her get onto the EWS podium in 2015. I began to help her with her training and trying to be a good mentor to her. Sadly Lorraine’s love for jumping, going fast and just generally pushing her limits often ended in crashing!

We all know that crashing is part of the game and a risk we take. Normally a bit of time for broken bones to recover and then we are back out there, pushing the limits again and again! Lorraine had quite a number of hits to her head during the last 2/3 years and in July 2015 at an EWS race in France, another blow to the head was one hit too many.

I would love you as the MTB community, to get behind Lorraine and help support her in her journey to recovery…. We need to raise 25’000CHF (23’300€) to pay for her treatment. We have secured massive support from the industry and many riders to offer every person who donates to Lorraine’s Recovery Fund and opportunity to win some amazing prizes.”

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A website set up to support Lorraine explains that while Lorraine has had treatment in Switzerland, her medical cover does not extend to the more advanced treatments which are available in America, and which she hopes will make the greatest improvement to her condition. This where you come in: there’s a fundraising raffle with some serious prizes to be won.

For every 10CHF you give (this is roughly £8), you get an entry for the raffle. The more you give, the more chance you get to win, so for example, 30CHF = 3 entries. The closing date for the raffle is the 31.12.2016. Any donation above 50CHF will get you a #myBrainmyRules t-shirt of your choice, and the prizes are as follows:

1x Week of holiday in the Swiss Alps with Bikeverbier.com
1x BMC Speedfox Trailcrew full bike (size S), mounted with Team components
1x Day of riding with Tracy Moseley
1x Fox Fork 36
1x Pair of DZR Mamba shoes (size of your choice)
1x Pair of DZR Minna shoes (size of your choice)
1x Pair of DZR Jetlag shoes (size of your choice)
1x Pocket Rocket BMC kit (short and jersey)
1x Fizik Monte Saddle
1x Giro Cipher helmet
1x Giro All Mountain helmet
1x Isostar food package
1x entry for the Enduro World Series round in Finale Ligure
1x V8 Equipment FRD 20.1 backpack (teal)
1x V8 Equipment EXP 110.1 travel bag

Yes, you read that right – a day of riding with Tracy Moseley is up for grabs, as is a whole bike and a whole week of playing in the Swiss Alps with long term friends of Singletrack, Bike Verbier. There are also many signed jerseys available from a whole flock of top riders. All for the price of a couple of pints of craft ale. And even if you don’t win you can feel good about yourself for doing something good.

To donate and enter the raffle click here.

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Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.