tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post4129779442730293082..comments2024-03-19T05:40:22.017-04:00Comments on Sprinter della Casa: Story - Paul RuhlmanAkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430651087205849350noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-63452593847110666262013-07-16T23:35:11.137-04:002013-07-16T23:35:11.137-04:00Paul was truly an amazing guy. I was just telling...Paul was truly an amazing guy. I was just telling my husband about him when I decided to google him. I found this blog as well. He will always live on in our memories. My last pictures of him are at a "keger" in high school. He is smiling and that is how I remember him. We were lucky to know such a gentle and giving soul.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-7419309982324551992013-06-21T00:55:56.184-04:002013-06-21T00:55:56.184-04:00Thank you for the tribute to Paul in words and act...Thank you for the tribute to Paul in words and actions.<br /><br />I raced with him in those days too. We were roommates at the OTC in Colorado Springs in December 1985.<br /><br />We were there through Christmas and there was a drawing for presents. Paul won the team USA skinsuit and I always thought how lucky he was.<br /><br />Paul always kept us laughing. One day, during a classroom instruction with no less than Eddy B, the national team coach, we were told, in Eddy's thick Polish accent, to be "Strong like bull, eat like horse, sleep like baby."<br /><br />Paul, from the back, added, "Fuck like rabbit" and those in earshot couldn't contain ourselves.<br /><br />I responded to his relaxed, likable, demeanor and ready sense of humor, and regret that I didn't stay in touch.<br /><br />It was only a few short years later that I went to a race in the middle of Connecticut, the Naugatuck criterium, only to find out when I got there that it was the Donovan-Ruhlman memorial race and found out what had happened to Paul.<br /><br />I wish I could write that it motivated me to do well in the race, but I felt so sad and empty inside at the news. I'm not sure I even finished.<br /><br />I see his teammate, Rob Lattanzi, regularly as he is a neighbor, former teammate, and regular club race competitor. I've passed this link on to him.<br /><br />Regards,<br />Leon Moser<br />nicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06060849250025251883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-42095278141011767212008-11-21T21:16:00.000-05:002008-11-21T21:16:00.000-05:00Amy - thanks for the kind words. I can't pretend t...Amy - thanks for the kind words. I can't pretend to understand the loss that you felt, the feelings you went through. I'm glad that you found the post, though, and I'm glad that it made you feel proud of Paul. I wrote the post to illuminate the meaning of the Naugatuck race but I guess I ultimately meant it for those that knew him so much better that I ever did.<BR/><BR/>Gabriella - thank you too for the kind words. From your words and the others', Paul obviously affected people in a positive way. That was perhaps the best thing he could have left behind.Akihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00430651087205849350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-77938097189031121152008-11-21T19:40:00.000-05:002008-11-21T19:40:00.000-05:00I just wanted to let you know that your blog about...I just wanted to let you know that your blog about Paul Ruhlman has a beautiful message in it. <BR/><BR/>We ALL sit in seats in theaters or walk down hallways in hospitals that are dedicated to someone's memory, or we take part in events that are named for someone who is gone. <BR/><BR/>You have honored Paul by your comments and your description. You have honored his family who loved him so much. And you have helped his spirit live on.<BR/><BR/>Thank you.<BR/><BR/>GabriellaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-53987473871400086392008-11-21T19:39:00.000-05:002008-11-21T19:39:00.000-05:00I just wanted to let you know that your blog about...I just wanted to let you know that your blog about Paul Ruhlman has a beautiful message in it. <BR/><BR/>We ALL sit in seats in theaters or walk down hallways in hospitals that are dedicated to someone's memory, or we take part in events that are named for someone who is gone. <BR/><BR/>You have honored Paul by your comments and your description. You have honored his family who loved him so much. And you have helped his spirit live on.<BR/><BR/>Thank you.<BR/><BR/>GabriellaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-7005969546861056052008-11-21T18:37:00.000-05:002008-11-21T18:37:00.000-05:00This is Thanksgiving week and this is the time of ...This is Thanksgiving week and this is the time of year that Paul was involved in the fatal car accident. Somehow my niece found this and sent it to me. It brought tears to my eyes but made me very proud.<BR/><BR/>Paul's momamy Ruhlmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16426395024460635547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-48454342961094415642008-07-08T21:25:00.000-04:002008-07-08T21:25:00.000-04:00Alicia - Thanks again for your thoughts on Paul. I...Alicia - <BR/><BR/>Thanks again for your thoughts on Paul. I never knew him outside of his racing, and the most time I spent talking with him was between the two days of the Greenfield Stage Race. I realized when I read your second comment that I don't even have a picture of him. I can say that for many years I tried to be like him in the races, quietly strong. But I'm not as strong and not as quiet. lol. I'm glad though that you found the post in the first place, I hope that it helped.<BR/><BR/>AkiAkihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00430651087205849350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-90551440659328096042008-07-08T09:59:00.000-04:002008-07-08T09:59:00.000-04:00Aki,I am so glad you saw my response! Cycling mean...Aki,<BR/>I am so glad you saw my response! Cycling meant everything to Paul and you are so right about his maturity. In high school, While we were all planning for the next "Keger", he was out training for his next race. All of us respected him so much and wanted to see him succeed, and he would have...which made it all the more difficult to believe he was gone. But, his dedication was a lesson to me that I have tried to use through my life...even 20 years later. It's really something that even now, he is an example for strength. it just proves he did more in his short life than many people do in a lifetime.<BR/>Anyway, thank you for listening and letting me blabber on your blog!<BR/><BR/>AliciaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-72807359780891556062008-07-04T13:36:00.000-04:002008-07-04T13:36:00.000-04:00Alicia - I get an email notification for every com...Alicia - I get an email notification for every comment on this blog, although sometimes I pretend I don't. I'm glad you found this story about Paul and I'm also glad that he really was what I described. As I point out in the story, I felt like I didn't know him all that well but he always treated me well, respectfully, and acted with a maturity well beyond his years.Akihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00430651087205849350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-50021783423874543382008-07-03T15:23:00.000-04:002008-07-03T15:23:00.000-04:00Hello there...as this story was written last year,...Hello there...as this story was written last year, i am not sure if you will see this response...Paul was a very good friend of mine in high school and the first friend I had ever lost. It was an awful time for his friends and family but your description so many years later moved me so much. You described him to a "t". He was such a generous, kind and gentle person and I am so glad that people are taking part in this memorial race in his honor. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-36135693147276285422007-07-18T16:26:00.000-04:002007-07-18T16:26:00.000-04:00Naugatuck for me was always a love-hate race. I m...Naugatuck for me was always a love-hate race. I much preferred the Meriden course but after a lot of problems with locals (bikes stolen out of cars, kids threatening to throw basketballs into the field, firehouse on the course) the race moved over a few towns.<BR/><BR/>It was good to see Sue and Guy out there at the race, weather notwithstanding. I paid my $27 for the day, apparently that was all I was due to contribute.Akihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00430651087205849350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36139180.post-72265419282897341292007-07-17T23:50:00.000-04:002007-07-17T23:50:00.000-04:00Wow.Naugatuck was always one of my favourite races...Wow.<BR/><BR/>Naugatuck was always one of my favourite races, but I never knew any of that. A truly classic New England crit course. With a great back-story. Who knew?GOBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18332781462345630572noreply@blogger.com