Man biking across country for traumatic brain injury awareness passes through Texoma

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) - “What a day, what a day, got the wind at my back, sun in my face,” said biker William Galloway as he neared the Texas border from New Mexico.

Galloway knows the American roads well.

“Traffic beeps at me sometimes,” said Galloway. “Must look too sexy on my bicycle.”

He didn’t always live his life speeding down the side of the road.

Seventeen years ago, his world stopped.

He said a drunk driver hit him, and he suffered a traumatic brain injury.

“It’s just so frustrating because I wanted to take it out on the guy that hit me, take it out on the system,” said Galloway. “I didn’t ask for this on the side of my head.”

He said the next ten years felt like a constant uphill battle as he moved from the hospital to an assisted living home to a group home.

Eventually, he said lost his job and struggled to find another.

Then he decided to go back to what he loved before the accident.

“I’ve been a bicycle nut ever since I was a kid,” said Galloway. “I love bikes.”

He never looked back.

“I hopped on a bike and realized I needed some more stability, so I ended up with this trike I got now,” said Galloway.

It’s been five years since he first hit the road.

He’s crossed the country not once, not twice, but twelve times.

And every mile, he said he wants to support other traumatic brain injury survivors.

“Sometimes they’re on the edge just to give up because they want their life back,” said Galloway. “And that’s what hurts. That’s what hurts with me too. If anybody knows anybody like that, give them the benefit of the doubt. Understand what they’re going through, what they didn’t ask for.”

He raises money on GoFundMe, PayPal, and Venmo to repair his bike and pay for places to stay overnight.

In the meantime, he said his next stop is Big Cabin, Oklahoma, outside of Tulsa.

Copyright 2022 KXII. All rights reserved.