Next Stop... Dalton, GA

After my accident in March, my life changed.  It’s been a difficult journey filled with some highs and the lowest of lows. 

I will forever be thankful to Kathy for putting me in touch with Saul, who surprisingly became a close confidant during my recovery.  After that first phone call from him a week after my accident, I wouldn’t have predicted that he would have such a profound impact on my recovery and my outlook on life.  Honestly, I only vaguely knew who he was at the time of our initial conversation.  Imagine my surprise that after a month and half, I’d be changing my vacation plans to include a trip to Georgia to meet him.

Those who know me know that I could care less about meeting pro cyclists, current or otherwise. So yes, this was something that is completely out of character for me, but I knew that it was now or likely never. 

Once the decision was made to go to Georgia, I also decided that I wasn’t going to be public about it.  I told a few people, including my mom, mostly so that someone would know where I was.  For some reason I felt a little uncomfortable and wasn’t ready to field questions about this guy that I was going to Georgia to meet, since most of my friends wouldn’t understand my strong emotional need to meet him given that they had no idea who he was or what my relationship was to him.

I arrived in Dalton late Monday night after USPro.  The following morning was filled with me nervously prepping myself for meeting this stranger that had changed my life in unimaginable ways. 

My recently acquired lack of inhibition (thank you TBI?) lead me to give him a long hug within the first few seconds after I pulled up at his house.  For me, it was like greeting an old friend.  For him, it was probably more like the awkwardly long hug I’d promised him a month prior.

At some point, he sent a tweet and Facebook update saying that he was with me.  Shortly after, I started receiving messages of surprise from friends that had seen it and had no idea that I was meeting him.  The cat was out of the bag.  There was a picture later in the afternoon as well, followed by more shocked responses from my friends and tweeps questioning what I was doing there.

Out of respect for his privacy, I won’t rehash every detail of our day together.  However, after a relaxed lunch with his parents (wonderful people!), we got hopped up on caffeine (dude brews a mean cup of coffee and I’m spoiled for life!), he attempted to fix a scratch on my rental car (such a gentleman!), and then we drove up to Chattanooga where he showed me around the city, including, of course, a bike shop (yes, we’re both bike nerds!).  

We walked around, chatted, and pretty much just spent time getting to know each other a little better.  He was friendly, outgoing, and I think he could sense a bit of nervousness or shyness in the way I spoke and in my body language.  For the most part, I concentrated on not being the complete spaz that my friends know me to be, although I’m not certain I was successful.  Thank goodness he can carry a conversation! 

I can’t remember exactly what he said to me in our last minutes together, but I told him he was going to make me cry, which he did.  Being highly emotional on my best of days is hard enough… but this was emotionally painful.  It could have been any number of things most likely related to my brain injury or new medication; I’m not sure.  Simple fact is, I had a difficult time holding it together while we said goodbye and didn’t want to let go.  I completely lost it once I got back to my hotel room.

I hope this is a sign that we have a strong enough bond for a long friendship.

Oh, and at some point in the day, I volunteered for his Race Across America team for next year.  I don’t know if he’ll take me up on the offer of soigneur duties, but it should clear up any questions as to my current level of sanity.