Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Pete Schuyler runs beside J.P. Palmer during the last few yards of the Mountains of Misery ride to the top of Smith Mountain.

A shrine Bill Johnson made behind his home near Blacksburg pays respect to the deer that died after hitting him in last year's the Mountains of Misery bicycle race. Johnson suffered a broken neck.

No guts, no story.

These are the words displayed in professional cyclist Bill Johnson's back yard in Blacksburg, as part of his "Sacred Deer Shrine." The shrine includes a deer skull and skin, Buddhist prayer flags and the remains of his old bike.

The shrine memorializes a freak crash that nearly cost Johnson his life. It happened during last year's Mountains of Misery bike ride when a deer collided with Johnson about 20 miles into the race.

Johnson broke his neck.

On Sunday afternoon, however, only one year later, he was back on the grueling course for the fifth time.

The whole, weekend-long event consists of numerous cycle rides and runs. Johnson was participating in the 125-mile ride.

After four months in a neck brace and months more of rehabilitation, Johnson had something to prove on this Memorial Day weekend tradition for cyclists across the nation.

This year's ride hosted 500 riders who came from Southwest Virginia towns and other places as far away as Canada. The ride begins in Newport and ends on top of Salt Pond Mountain, taking riders up the steep hills of the New River Valley.

Johnson, 43, is a gentle man with wire-rimmed glasses. His slender frame -- about 142 pounds -- endured the grueling race all the way to the finish line. He clocked in at 8 hours and 7 minutes.

Johnson's recollections of the accident are fuzzy, but he does remember some details.

"I was just riding along and I heard someone in the group say the word 'deer,' " he said. "As soon as those words entered my ears, I saw the flank side of a deer run into my bicycle from the left side."

The next thing he knew he was on the ground and the deer's legs were flailing around. Fellow bikers and volunteers came to his rescue, he said.

"So now I'm thinking, 'OK, this deer just hit me and I survived that but now it's going to kick me to death,' " he said.

Johnson survived, the deer didn't.

Johnson said he was fortunate that the accident happened when there were people around to help.

"The ride was being led by the ambulance," he said. "So if you're going to be hit by a deer and break your neck this is the way to do it, because it's safer."

Johnson has been a devoted cyclist for practically his whole life. He began pedaling as a sport about 20 years ago, when he was in college.

He got into the sport to keep himself fit, "and just being able to tour the country," he said. "It's a great way to see the world. ... You are propelling yourself ... but you're also seeing the country and taking in the environment."

Johnson said since the accident he seems to be seeing more deer. That's made him a little apprehensive about taking on Salt Pond Mountain again. He did not let it stop him from re-entering the race he began last year.

"What happened to me is an incredible rarity," he said. "You see deer all the time but the chance of them hitting a cyclist is extremely rare."

James DeMarco, event director for Mountains of Misery, agreed. "Johnson's story is one of the strangest stories I've ever heard of," he said.

Many people were amazed at how quickly he was able to get back on his bike. By last fall, Johnson was riding again.

Geoff Saunders of Blacksburg, a friend of Johnson, said he was amazed at how quickly Johnson recovered.

This year, Saunders was beside Johnson as they passed the scene of the accident.

Saunders ,who trained for the ride with Johnson, said it takes months of disciplined preparation to be able to complete the race.

Johnson, a member of the New River Valley Bicycle Association, said he and his wife, Kylie, were overwhelmed with support from the bike club after the accident.

"There is such a great sense of community here," he said.

At the end of the ride, Johnson was called up on stage to be recognized for his victory on Salt Pond Mountain.

"Personally, I felt that I needed to complete the race this year to come full circle," he said. "This ride finally allowed me to put this in the past."

He said he thought about the accident a lot.

"That could have been the last image I would see is the image of a deer," he said. "It was almost like a gesture of mortality."

"I felt the need to get back on that horse, but in this case it would be a deer," he said, laughing.

That deer's skull and hide now hang in his backyard shrine. Perhaps they've served their purpose.