BOONE COUNTY, MO. -- Columbia NASCAR Driver Carl Edwards switched from riding on four wheels to two wheels for a good cause Wednesday.
Edwards rode a bicycle on the Katy Trail through Boone County to help raise the awareness of bike helmet safety.
The “Ride with Carl for Sam” bike ride is a fundraiser for Edwards’ friend Sam Russell.
Russell was paralyzed in a bicycle accident three years ago and now uses a hand-cycle bike.
About 50 people went along for the ride from Columbia to McBaine.
“The whole time today, everybody was saying thanks for doing this. Thanks for doing this! I’m not doing anything," Edwards said. "This is everybody getting together to do something that’s fun and something that’s for a good cause. In the end, the real message is to raise awareness for wearing a helmet and getting out and getting a little exercise. That’s good.”
“A bike helmet saved my life," Russell said."I would be in a lot worse shape if I hadn’t had a helmet on. I had a fracture up high in my neck. Without my helmet to take that blow when I hit my head, I probably would have a full line fracture there and probably be a quadriplegic or be dead.”
After stopping in McBaine, Edwards and about a dozen other people continued their bike trek to St. Louis for this weekend’s nationwide race at Gateway International Speedway.
Money raised from Wednesday's event goes toward the Sam Russell Helmet Safety Foundation.
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