The Blind Bloke Who Wouldn’t Quit: How Nigel Limb Defied Death, Darkness and Doubt
Every so often, you meet someone who rewrites the rules of what it means to be a biker. Not through speed or trophies, but through sheer grit, guts and a refusal to roll over when life tries to high-side you into oblivion.
That man is Nigel Limb – better known these days as The Blind Bloke Racing.
Nigel’s story isn’t just about bikes. It’s about survival, love, and one hell of a comeback.
The Crash That Changed Everything
A seasoned motorbike and car enthusiast, Nigel was racing on the sands of Mablethorpe Beach when fate decided to throw him a curveball. Hitting a pool of water at 70mph, he was launched over the handlebars and landed with catastrophic force.
Time froze. The lights, quite literally, went out.
Air-lifted to Hull Royal Infirmary, Nigel was placed in an induced coma with a traumatic brain injury so severe that doctors told his wife, Julie, to prepare for the worst. “They took my wife and son into the ‘Room of Doom’,” Nigel recalls. “They told them I wasn’t going to make it.”
For nine long days, machines kept him alive. When doctors suggested turning off the life support, Julie refused. She’d been playing his favourite music by his bedside when she saw a single tear roll down his cheek — proof, to her, that he was still in there somewhere.
She begged for one more weekend.
That weekend changed everything.
After eleven days in a coma, Nigel woke up — alive, but forever changed. Partially sighted and weak, his new battle had only just begun.
Losing Everything — and Starting Again
When he finally left hospital after just four weeks, the world he’d known was gone. His eyesight, business of 27 years, and his confidence — all shattered. Julie’s mental health had suffered too, compounded by the loss of her mother days before the crash.
“I was a wreck of a man,” Nigel admits. “Life was black.”
But bikers don’t quit. With the help of his children, local support services and an NHS eye hospital, he started clawing his way back — one small victory at a time.
And by his side through it all was Julie, recovered and resolute. Together, they faced every setback head-on. “Each day was a challenge,” he says, “but I just decided to chip away at life.”
Facing the Fear
For a man who had lived and breathed motorbikes, losing the confidence to even look at them was brutal. He owned eight of them, but after the accident, he couldn’t bear to be near one.
Then came a turning point. “I told Julie I needed to go and watch some racing,” he recalls. “I needed to face that fear.” So she dragged him there — just as he’d asked. It was horrendous. But it was also the first crack of light breaking through the darkness.
Soon after, Nigel began experimenting again — not with engines, but with courage. When Julie saw him pedalling past the kitchen window on a mountain bike, she knew her husband’s fire was reigniting.
Next came a borrowed race bike. Nigel headed for the Eddie Wright Raceway in Scunthorpe and climbed back into the saddle. “I sat there thinking, ‘Nige, what are you doing?’” he laughs. “But once I started riding, it filled me with joy. I did six laps — and that was enough. I was back.”
Back to the Beach
Weeks later, Nigel returned to Mablethorpe Beach — the same stretch of sand that had nearly claimed his life. The nerves were electric, the adrenaline fierce. But this time, he conquered it. “I had to slay that demon,” he said. “And that’s exactly what I did.”
The Blind Bloke Racing
Today, Nigel is an ambassador for the Wilberforce Trust, a motivational speaker, and a proud advocate for disability awareness.
He’s also a British record holder — clocking 83 mph in 8.74 seconds on an Electric TT Zero bike despite his severe visual impairment. Here's a Shot In The Dark 2021 at 76mph on Triumph Bonneville, just because he can.
He shrugs off the online cynics with trademark defiance: “Disability isn’t a competition,” he says. “You don’t need to justify it.”
For a man who was once declared brain dead, Nigel’s throttle hand is still very much alive — and his spirit? Unbreakable.
Next on his bucket list? A bed of nails. And frankly, after everything he’s been through, that sounds like a day off.
Contact him through Facebook - BlindBlokeRacing