David M. Hodge, who is in his 70s, has been one of the frequent local cyclists seen in competitions or simply cycling around the island. Of late he is off the roads nursing what was a badly injured hip which is now reportedly healing well, thanks to doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados.

David Hodge participating in John T. Memorial cycling race

Hodge, who is a resident at Long Bay, and who is a well-known health conscious person with extremely careful eating and drinking habits, has long been regarded as one of the leading cyclists in Anguilla, notwithstanding his advanced age.

He has been using his cycling as an important part of his health fitness regime, benefiting from the exercise it provided him and for this reason, as well as the pleasure it brought him, he is anxious to get back on his racing bike. It is therefore with much regret that he recalls the injury and setback he suffered.

“On August 23, this year, I left home as I trained every morning on my bicycle travelling to West End, Sandy Ground, up to the Sandy Hill round-about and then making my way back home,” he recalled to The Anguillian. “On that particular morning, at around seven o’clock, the traffic was heavy and as I rode along the t-junction at the Long Bay Road, at the Car Wash, I came to a groove from one side of the road to the other for the installation of traffic lights as I understood.

Awards won by Mr. Hodge

“My intention was to turn to travel to West End and I saw a gap in the traffic through which I could have passed. There were some fine stones at the end of the rut. As I began to turn the front wheel of the bicycle slipped into the groove, flipped me back and I fell. I stayed there for a while but did not realise that something was wrong with me until I found that one of my legs was lapped over the other and I could not remove it.

“Some boys who were travelling to Long Bay and knew me, and saw that I had a problem, stopped and assisted me, each holding me under my arms, put me in their car and brought me home. As I lay on the floor, I called Dr. Lo who advised me to call the ambulance. I was taken to the emergency area of the hospital. I underwent some x-rays and the conclusion was that I had fractured the main ‘ball’ on the left side of my hip that controls movement of the leg.”

The popular cyclist said he was told that he had three choices where he could get specialist treatment: Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbados. He opted for the latter and travelled to Barbados on August 24 where he was operated on at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by Dr. Carendon.

“He told me that if he were to use the hospital’s ‘ball’ to replace mine it would only last for about ten years but if I were to use my own, it should last a lifetime so I opted for my own. He said he would put some screws and a clamp over it. I remained at the hospital for about five days… and left for Anguilla on the 9th of September.”

According to him, apart from his hip injury, the consulting doctor was amazed with his otherwise healthy condition which was largely due to his regular cycling and his dieting discipline.

Hodge, who moves around his house with the aid of a ‘walker’, later did some x-rays on the advice of his surgeon and sent them to him in Barbados. “I called him on the 18th of October. He told me that it appeared to him that everything was getting back in place and that I should return to Barbados to take out the screws. The next trip is on Wednesday the 14th of November,” he reported.

He said the injury had ‘cut him down’ from being as active as he had been. He reasoned that “it could have been worse. I could have gotten killed, but God was in the midst.”

He severely criticised the general habit of leaving ruts and other openings in the roads for a prolonged time. “I think it is irresponsible to have this type of situation on our roads,” he stated. “It is not nice. I hope that my recovery would be a full one, but if my injury becomes a handicap for the rest of my life I would be restricted from doing what I am accustomed to. That would be a result of the irresponsibility on the roads. This has been going on for too long in Anguilla. That is the story of my mishap.”

Mr. Hodge was a building contractor in Slough and Redding in England for many years. He eventually retired and returned to Anguilla and took up cycling as a hobby. His living room is decorated with a number of trophies and other awards he won in local competitions and a large photograph of himself on his racing bike. The events in which he has regularly participated are the John T. Memorial Bicycle Race and the Optimists Club’s Triathalon.

“I have stood up very well against a lot of the younger cyclists,” Mr. Hodge laughed as he recalled the good times he has had in the races. He hopes those times will return one day soon.

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