This is one in a series of stories looking back at the Kalamazoo bike crash that killed five cyclists and injured four, and the year since the June 7, 2016 tragedy. Go here to read more stories in the series.

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Earlier in the day, Paul Runnels installed new bike components in anticipation of a cycling tour across Colorado with his brother. He didn't make it to the airport.

Runnels, 66, is one of nine "Chain Gang" cyclists who were struck by a speeding pickup truck on June 7, 2016 just north of Kalamazoo. Five died and four were injured, but a year after the violent crash prevented him from heading west, Runnels has recovered enough to make the trip this spring.

Runnels has participated in weekly Tuesday rides with the informal social cycling group for five years. He decided to join in the ride, from the Kalamazoo Community Services campus northwest to Plainwell and back, to log some miles before taking off for the Centennial State the following week.

Unlike other survivors, Runnels remembers most of the trip before the crash. The scars continue to mark his body.

But the actual impact, the memory of bodies being thrown as the blue Chevy pickup tore through his friends, remains lost.

"I remember taking off for the ride. It was a dreary day, and we were making pretty good time," Runnels said. "I saw a sign for Markin Glen Park. By all accounts the crash happened right after that."

He sustained a subdural hematoma, but a helmet prevented Runnels from experiencing severe brain damage. Plenty of other injuries were caused by the crash, but he speculates that the shock of what happened was enough to make him forget.

"Maybe it's a protective mechanism," Runnels said. "I'm kind of glad I don't remember. I'd probably be feeling a lot more fragile on a bicycle."

He remembers waking up to people outside his hospital room talking about the crash. Once someone explained what happened to him, he began to understand the extent of his injuries.

Runnels retired from a long career in animal health care in 2015. The former associate director at Zoetis describes the various wounds that permeated his body with clinical precision.

"I had a fractured pelvis and separation of the pubic symphysis, the entire right side of my pelvis was unstable," Runnels said. "I also had a penetrating perineal wound, (which) in a guy is the area between the scrotum and anus. Something punched through there and did some damage."

He also had fractured ribs, a fractured shoulder blade, a compression of his first vertebrae, a collapsed lung and lacerations across his body. Luckily for him, Runnels was not thrown into poison ivy bushes near a ditch off North Westnedge Avenue like the other survivors.

Five of the bicyclists were pronounced dead at the scene: Tony Nelson, 73; Larry Paulik, 74; Debra Bradley, 53; Melissa Fevig Hughes, 42; and Suzanne Sippel, 56.

Runnels rode close to the front of the pack, along with Sheila Jeske, Jennifer Johnson and Paul Gobble, who all sustained severe injuries but lived. In the hospital, Runnel was able to speak with Jeske and Johnson, who were in worse condition.

Runnels underwent eight surgeries in total. While in Bronson Methodist Hospital, physiological stress caused him to develop a stomach ulcer.

"I was pretty angry," Runnels said. "I figured I'd never ride a bike again, and this incident has probably aged me 10 years. I was having those kinds of thoughts. I wouldn't say they lasted more than a day or two."

While he has come to terms with what happened, Runnels said he harbors some resentment and a bit of sympathy for Charles Pickett Jr., the 51-year-old Battle Creek man who is charged with five counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, five counts of second-degree murder and four counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury.

Pickett's trial is scheduled to start Sept. 18. He could face life in prison if convicted of murder.

"We weren't doing anything wrong," Runnels said. "You think about what you could have done differently and there's nothing really. We were out enjoying a ride and just really got mowed down. It is a tragedy that it happened."

According to a police report, officers found marijuana, a small amount of methamphetamine, rum, vodka, beer and wine in Pickett's pickup truck after the crash. His girlfriend told police he downed handfuls of pain pills and muscle relaxers before taking the wheel.

"It was completely unnecessary, he took the pills he took, believing he was invincible and he could deal with it," Runnels said. "You can't overcome the effect of any intoxicating agent. I don't feel a sense of hate toward him, but he certainly needs to come to justice."

Runnels has tried to attend each court appearance for Pickett and is prepared to testify. He said he hopes the second-degree murder charges stick.

A long journey of physical therapy awaited him after returning from the hospital. Initially, Runnels couldn't support any weight on his right leg.

Other members of the Chain Gang, which has grown since the crash, sometimes passed by Runnels' house while taking trips. He would often wave from his wheelchair as they rode by.

In January he was well enough to play tennis and remain fairly active during another planned vacation in Hawaii. By April, Runnels was riding short 3-mile loops near his home in Richland.

"I didn't have any real fear of riding on the roads," he said. "I thought I would be a little more uncomfortable. If there's traffic coming in both directions my adrenaline spikes more than it used to."

In March, he visited the site of the crash for the first time.

If any good can come of the incident, he said it's an increase in awareness among drivers. Motorists need to share the road, Runnels said, but bicyclists should obey traffic laws as well.

"Any car out there outweighs me 10-to-1, so I won't get in a battle about who has the right of way," Runnels said. "Recently, I was stopped at a stop light and a bicyclist came ripping right through. There was no traffic coming the other way, but that doesn't help the cause of cyclists in general."