The Scottish celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay announced Saturday that he was recently involved in a cycling accident, which also prompted a safety warning from him.
“This week, unfortunately, I had a really bad accident and it really shook me,” Ramsay, 57, announced in an Instagram video — in which he appeared shaken, his hand quivering. The accident occurred in Connecticut, his accompanying post revealed. He received treatment at the Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, Connecticut, according to the post.
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Prefacing the announcement with his love for “cycling and triathlons and Isle of Man,” the MasterChef judge added, “Honestly, I’m lucky to be here.”
“[T]hose incredible trauma surgeons, doctors and nurses in the hospital who looked after me this week, they were amazing,” he said.
Then came his safety warning — the “very important message” as he put it.
“[B]ut honestly, you’ve got to wear a helmet,” Ramsay said, wagging his hand for emphasis. “I don’t care how short the journey is, I don’t care the fact that these helmets cost money, but they’re crucial. Even the kids, a short journey, they’ve got to wear a helmet.”
“Now, I’m lucky to be standing here. I’m in pain, it’s been a brutal week,” Ramsay continued. Grimacing, he lifted his chef jacket, uncovering an extensive purple bruise sprawled over one side of his abdomen. “And I’m sort of getting through it, but I cannot tell you the importance of wearing a helmet,” he added, wagging his finger in warning.
Ramsay’s accompanying post revealed that he did not suffer fractures or any other major injuries. Nonetheless, he was “a bit bruised up looking like a purple potato.” He also shared a photo of his damaged helmet.
Appreciating the medical personnel who cared for and discharged him, Ramsay added that he, however, was “most thankful for my helmet that saved my life.” (RELATED: Married Nike Executives Die After Lumber On Truck Hits Them During Bike Ride)
Ramsay’s announcement came just ahead of Father’s Day, Sunday.
“This weekend is massive, it’s Father’s Day, for new fathers, old fathers, middle-aged fathers,” he said, adding his best wishes and urging everyone to “be safe”.
Ramsay — apart from being a celebrity chef — is also an avid cyclist and endurance athlete. He finished the Hawaii Ironman, one of the world’s toughest athletic events, in 2013, clocking 14 hours 4 minutes and 48 seconds, according to a University of Brighton blog post.
Attempting the race again in 2016, he failed to complete it. He had completed the 2.4-mile swim and the 112-mile bicycle race and was to start the 26.2-mile marathon — the final phase — when he became violently ill, vomiting several times, becoming severely dehydrated in the over 49C (120F) heat, and requiring urgent medical attention, according to The Scotsman.
Ramsay also ran his first London Marathon back in 2000, according to the Daily Mail.
Ramsay struggled after the Ironman races with weight gain as his work as a high-profile chef grew more successful but stressful, Daily Mail reported. He reportedly took to endurance sports out of his fear that he could lose his wife, fitness buff Tana, because of his weight gain.
