For T.J. Lavin, this weekend's Dew Tour Championships in his hometown Las Vegas will be surreal and bittersweet. The BMX star won't win a Dew Cup, because he can no longer ride a bike, but he was the top story going into the event because of what happened at last year's competition.

While trying a relatively easy trick during a jump between sections on the dirt course, he crashed hard and ended up comatose in a nearby hospital, with a severe brain injury.

"I can't remember what happened the whole month, let alone that day," he said Thursday.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the accident and Lavin, during an interview, shed light upon what people who suffer brain injuries must endure while trying to reclaim the lives they had previously enjoyed.

The longtime BMX star feels as though he could still jump on his bike and ride the way he used to ride, but his motor skills remain so out of whack that he has a hard time even pedaling a bike.

Oddly, though, the mind itself is sharp. Lavin, in fact, designed the dirt course the BMX riders will use during the Dew Tour Championships, which run through Sunday.

Being back at the scene of his accident is more than surreal, he said, explaining that he has experienced flashbacks of last year, during which he has tried to caution himself not to ride in the event. It was the same feeling he experienced when he first saw slow-motion video of the accident; he wished he could warn himself off the course.

"It was just a fun trick, nothing crazy," he recalled. "I was just trying to get through the section."

Making it more painful, or frustrating, was the fact that he was going to retire from competitive riding after the event.

His story is not unique. Pro snowboarder Kevin Pearce has been waging the same kind of battle since suffering a brain injury in the halfpipe on Dec. 31, 2009. Pearce said recently that while he's confident he can ride a snowboard at a high level, the motor skills just won't come together.

Remarkably, a day before Lavin's accident, his longtime friend, Ty Pinney, suffered a more severe brain injury while riding on Lavin's backyard course. The next day, after Lavin's crash at the Dew Tour, the two ended up side-by-side in the same hospital.

Pinney is still re-learning how to walk and talk.

Lavin, as the man of the hour at the Dew Tour, said a part of him cringes every time he hears about anyone suffering a brain injury. "I'm really bummed for them because those days are going to be tough," he said. "It's a really big battle but it's not really that hard for you. It's really hard for your friends and family. They're having to deal with everything is way, way worse than what you have to deal with."

Lavin, whose fiancee was holding his hand as he awoke in his hospital bed, considers himself fortunate to only have been comatose for only one week, and hospitalized for only a month.

Still, he faced Mt. Everest-sized challenges. He had to learn how to count, and for that task his therapists used money. He had to re-learn, basically from scratch, how to walk and talk. He experienced double vision for about six months. If he skips a therapy session, it sets him back weeks.

"It's a long, hard process," he said. "You have to really think about it. Every single day you have no breaks -- you have to go to a therapy class or a rehab facility. You have to just put your head down and make it happen."

Lavin had been a top-level BMX star, a multiple X Games gold medalist, an professional musician and host of MTV's "The Challenge," and he has made remarkable progress.

His speech is perfect and his piano skills are returning, and he just wrapped up another season of "The Challenge."

As for the dirt course he designed, it's bigger and more challenging and requires more technical skills than last year's course, and the riders this week have said they love it. In fact, it's similar in many ways to the course at Lavin's nearby home.

"It's really cool to be bringing some of my backyard into the Dew Tour," he said. "It sucks, though, because I can't ride. But I'll swallow that medicine and sit back and enjoy the show."

-- Images showing T.J. Lavin in action at last year's Dew Tour Championships prelims, and working on the course for this year's event, are courtesy of Mark Losey / Alli Sports

And then tells you how to get sober quicker using a new sponsor of his, Forgiven, that gets alcohol out of your system so you can party all night and then be fresh as a daisy in the morning for your BMX contest... Cool. I have a lot of appreciation for Monster as well for being one of TJ's best sponsors when everybody kind of left him. That's cool.

I'm putting this video up for definition of bro-life, from SRH-esque tank tops to lifted gas-guzzling trucks to shooting guns in the desert. Regardless, it's TJ Lavin's backyard and it's Vegas, baby. Have fun as you should!

When two riders go down hard, people like the Athlete Recovery Fund spring to action. And spring to action they have.

The action sports community has come together to support injured BMX riders TJ Lavin and Ty Pinney. In Oct. of this year Ty Pinney crashed while riding in TJ Lavin's backyard as all the riders getting ready for the final stop on the Dew Tour series. The very next day while competing in the Dew Tour Dirt Jumping prelims TJ Lavin also suffered a big fall.
Soon thereafter both riders were located in intensive care and in neighboring rooms of University Medical Center's Trauma Center, both in similar conditions under medically induced coma's.
Both riders have now been released from permanent hospital care and are now on their way to recovery participating in extensive outpatient therapy programs. The costs continue to rise and the action sports community has come together to provide several items for auction. If you have an action sports fan on your wish list this Christmas be sure to check out this auction for some great one of a kind items such as:

• Ricky Carmichael signed Fox Jersey, Pants and not yet released helmet
• Signed Jersey's from Ryan Dungey, Michael Byrne, Nick Wey, Andrew Short, Ryan Villapoto, Grant Langston, Josh Grant, Josh Summey, Paul Carpenter, Austin Stroupe, Brock Hepler, Jake Weimer, Brandon Jesseman, Jimmy Albertson and Daniel Reardon.
• Hardluck Kings guitar and case
• Traxxas Slash RC Truck
• Hotel packages for Mirage, Luxor and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino all in Vegas
• Special edition TJ Lavin Kicker Headphones (not yet released)
• Slash Books
• Greg Lutzka and Chris Cole signed skateboards
• Limited edition signed Ozzy Ozbourne poster
• Louie Vito signed snowboard
• 2010 Pitster Pro XJR 90cc motorcycle signed by riders from Kicker Big Air Bash
• Mat Hoffman signed complete bike
• Monster Energy VIP Package
And more! All together over 70 items!!!
Go to http://stores.ebay.com/TJLavinFounation to find all these items and more!

About TJ Lavin:
A lifetime resident of Las Vegas and a pioneer in BMX Dirt Jumping who battled in early X Games titles and owns multiple medals. TJ is also known for his skills in the recording studio creating Lavs Lab and releasing an album. Most recently Lavin hosts MTV's "Real World vs Road Rules Challenge"

About Ty Pinney:
Ty is a BMX Dirt Jumper also from Vegas and is the designing force behind The Horror Project clothing. http://www.thpordie.com/"

The Las Vegas and action sports communities come together to support their own. Join us for a fundraising benefit hosted by Dana White, UFC President, on December 3rd at Vanity Nightclub, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas. 100 percent of the money raised will go to the TJ and Ty recovery fund.

TJ Lavin and Ty Pinney - BMX Bike Riders, Las Vegans and friends - were seriously injured in separate bike accidents, leaving both in comas just a few rooms apart at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. TJ and Ty continue to make progress, but still face a long, difficult road to recovery with mounting medical bills.

How can you help? We are looking for:
• Donations for our auctions (silent, live, and online)
• Company sponsorships to help fund event
• Monetary donations
• Celebrity DJs

EVENT/AUCTION: Dave Farra 702.622.1042 | DaveFarra@gmail.com
SPONSORSHIP: Chas Aday 702.591.1534 | CBAday3@yahoo.com
TALENT: Big B 702.403.2304 | BigB@hhtat.com