Calgary cyclist's neck sliced by barbed wire strung across trail

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A Calgary cyclist says he had his neck sliced by barbed wire strung across a trail earlier this week.

Stelianos Psaroudakissaidhe was out for a fun evening ride in West Bragg Creek Provincial Recreation Area about 40 kilometres west of Calgaryat about 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday.

Early into his ride, he went down a hill standing up when he saw something in his peripheral vision.

"It was too late," he told CBC News Friday afternoon. "Just hit me right in the neck like a ton of bricks."

Hisneck is sliced from side to side, more than half a centimetre deepin places.

'Trying to kill somebody'

Psaroudakis, a lifelongcyclist,believes the barbed wire was intentionally hung to hurt somebody. The wire was attached to a tree on either side of the trail at the bottom of a hill around a corner.

"They're malicious. They're trying to kill somebody. This is like attempted murder," he said. "Ifit was like ... an inch higher, it would have taken my head off."

His lower back is badly bruised because the wire "clotheslined me so I flew up in the air and landed on a rock."He lost consciousnessand hisliver was lacerated. Doctors found internal bleeding but hesays they believe those injuries will heal without surgery.

His friend was following at least 15 metres behind him, and wasn't caught by the wire.

"He saw my head tiltcompletely backwards," Psaroudakissaid. "He was crying when he came to me because he thought I was dead."

Psaroudakis has a chihuahua named Kiwi who travels in his backpack on bike rides. Kiwi flew out and lost hair on the side of her face, he said.

Bike stolen

The two cyclists, both from Calgary, took down the wire. Leaving the bike on the trail, they went back to their vehicle to drive to the hospital.

The next day, the bicycle had disappeared from the trail.

It's a black and gold carbon 2008 Stumpjumper FSR made by the high performance bike manufacturer, Specialized.

Psaroudakis is asking for donations through an online fundraising campaign, with a goal of raising $8,000, which he says he wants to use to buy a new bike, pay for his related bills and buy automated trail cameras to "donate" to the mountain bike trails in the area "and make them safe."

Similar models of themountain bike sold for $5,700 US (around $7,350 in Canadian dollars)brand new, according to BicycleBlueBook.com, but the used value of the bike nowadays is around $1,200 US ($1,550 Canadian) for one that's in "excellent" condition.

It's not the first crowdfunding campaign Psaroudakis has launched. In June, he asked for donations to help cover costs to get his chihuahua back, saying the pet had escaped his home and had been impounded by the City of Calgary.

Southern Alberta RCMPhave released a photo of the missing bike in hopes of finding it and the person who secured the barbed wire to the trees.

"Our best bet is public help," RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Curtis Peters said. "It's too early in the investigation to say what their intentions were. But regardless of the intentions, somebody got hurt."

Psaroudakis says he feels lucky he wasn't more badly injured. "When I blacked out, I thought my head was dangling on the other side of my body," he said. "I thought I was dead."

Local cycling organizations are cautioning riders to be careful on the trails until the police have finished the investigation.

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