Here it was....Monday. Sunny, 60 degrees. Stage 1 of the Tour of California and I had an opportunity to ride the full stage with a real US Pro rider as a training ride. But its not just any Pro cyclist I would be riding with...I'd be riding with a guy who shouldn't even be alive according to some of the most renowned brain specialists in the world.
The stage route would take us up US1 along the coast in hopes of reaching Santa Rosa before the pro peleton caught us. It started innocently enough with a big group riding out of Sausalito, up Mt Tam and down to Stinson Beach. As we continued the group dwindled with people turning back to San Francisco but as each one did, they all received a kind word and a hand shake from the Saul, who seemed genuinely thankful they had joined him for as long as they did. As we made our way up the coast to Pt Reyes, we picked up a few more who were just out for a ride, or who were riding to find the perfect place to get their pictures of the pros when they came by. I guess not realizing that they guy in the green Credit Agricole kit was a pro because of how he pulled up along side them, he would enthusiastically just start talking to them. While watching this I couldn't help but think that just 10 months ago this kid was in a coma, parents told he would be a vegetable if he lived at all and now here he is back doing what he loved.
As we rolled thru Pt. Reyes and headed north, the group got progressively smaller until there were just 3 of us left. Saul, Teddy from GU and myself. It was here where I really got an insight into Saul Raisin. Since I didn't know him before hand, I had nothing to compare it to, but even with that you kind of knew this was a good kid. Now after the trauma of the accident and his recovery, that "good kid" was also now a very appreciative one. As we rode, he talked about his recovery, the hole in his brain, how his team stood by him, how great his parents were and then he mentioned God. No particular religion and no bible beating, just the idea of God. He said that before the accident, he really didn't know what God was. But since then he thinks he knows a little more. He said that while he was recovering he realized if anyone needs to a see a miracle to confirm God's existence, they just need to look at him. He's alive. He's walking, he's talking (things he needed to relearn) and he's riding....again.
As we turned off US1 and headed towards Santa Rosa we found out the pro peloton for the Tour of California (Stage 1 of which we were pre-riding) was breathing down our necks. That's when Saul said "Get on!" and he started driving the pace. That's when Saul showed one of the most impressive displays of the day. Less then a year after his disastrous accident the "kid" was blasting up the mountains of California, leading a friendly peloton to the finishline, muscling it out in the big ring. We crested the last climb and raced down the other side into Santa Rosa, twenty minutes ahead of the race. When the finishline announcer yelled that it was Saul Raisin rolling in, the huge crowd went wild. They cheered as if they had just witnessed a miracle... In my opinion, they had.
No comments:
Post a Comment