THE sporting legacy of a young athlete from Exeter has been recognised on the first anniversary of her death.
Around 100 cyclists, among them friends, family and colleagues of Rebecca Scott, met at Exeter Quay on Sunday after taking part in the Becky's Buddies Riding Bikes event.
The day marked a year since Rebecca, 24, of Clyst St Mary, near Exeter, was killed when she crashed into a wall while out on a training ride for a 100 mile endurance race with her father Alan.
Her inquest said the reason for her crash remained a mystery but she could have suffered something known as 'cyclist's palsy' where her hands went numb meaning she was unable to apply the brakes.
Since her death, the family, which includes mother Sue and her brother, have been raising money for the neonatal unit at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital that cared for her as a baby, and the Devon Air Ambulance that attended her crash and tried to save her life.
There have been cycle, swim and running challenges to reflect Rebecca's love of sport.
And her family said they were amazed at how many turned out on their bikes to remember Rebecca on Sunday.
Alan said: "The turnout was amazing. I knew there would be people going from the Triathlon Club and they had pencilled in a faster ride and a shorter ride. But there were people from the gym, old school friends, family and family friends coming left, right and centre.
"We wanted to mark the occasion in some way and the plan was always to make it social. Sue said at the start she just wanted to see some people and be able to chat with them about Rebecca. Many of them we had not seen for a year, when it was obviously a bad time, so it was good to be able to have a proper chat."
The idea behind the ride was that anyone could take part – whether they were an experienced cyclist or a beginner and ride for as long as they wanted.
"Some were telling me they got their bikes out of the shed and had to brush off the cobwebs," said Alan. "But having gone through all that they will make a point of going out and doing it again.
"Although it was a year on from my daughter's death, because looking forward to this so much, it was not the black day it might have been. If we had not had something like this arranged we would have just been sat by ourselves looking back at what happened. But because we had this to look forward to our mind was busy.
"It was in fact a great day."
Alan said that having something to focus on and having the support of so many people has brought comfort to the family over the last 12 months
"Having things like this to focus no throughout the year has definitely helped us cope," he added.
"We were at Becky's old primary school about a month ago to donate her old books and seeing the children's eyes light up with joy when they saw them.
"It is the same with all the sporty stuff we have gone. It is generally a good experience and when you know others are happy, it makes everyone happy.
"I think I might give us all a week to relax before we start planning our next event."
