A cyclist in need, a 49er willing to help

Dog bites man. Sun rises in east. Retired player signs football for charity.

In other words, business as usual.

But the ball that former 49ers cornerback Eric Wright delivered, and the story of the Santa Rosa cyclist who inspired his act of generosity, makes this case a little different.

It starts with a mystery in the spring of 2013. Paul Stimson, a Santa Rosa native, retired land surveyor and accomplished amateur athlete, noticed that his cycling strength was falling off, as measured by the power meter on his road bike. Stimson also wondered why his left hip was so slow to recover after a tumble on his mountain bike.

He was able to complete the Mt. Tam Double Century – that’s a 200-mile ride – in 14 hours, 23 minutes a year ago. But something wasn’t right. Stimson pushed his Kaiser doctors to investigate, and they came back with the diagnosis no one wanted: He had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Quoting from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke web site, ALS is “a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscles.”

The disease wracks a person’s muscular system, eventually sapping the ability to move the arms, legs and body. Most people with ALS dies from respiratory failure – usually within three to five years after onset of symptoms – when the muscles in the diaphragm and chest wall fail.

It’s a horrible prognosis for anyone. But it seemed particularly unfair that ALS would strike Stimson, a dedicated cyclist, surfer, rock climber, skateboarder, horseman, pilot, scuba diver and backpacker who has lived his life with uncommon vigor.

“Paul’s a beast,” said Blake Ridgway, his friend and teammate with the Colavita-NorCal Cycling team. “That guy’s done every form of racing.”

Stimson, 61, has raced 19 double centuries, including the California Triple Crown Stage Race, which involves riding three of the toughest 200-milers in a calendar year. He rode the Terrible Two, a course in and around Sonoma County that demands nearly 16,500 feet of elevation gain, five times.

But Stimson’s physical decline has been swift.

“A month and a half ago, he showed up at a race for our team. He was taking pictures,” Ridgway said. “At that point he had just gotten those crutches with the braces. Now he’s basically using those to get to his wheelchair.”

Just after his diagnosis, Stimson wrote an open letter to the cycling club in which he celebrated, among other images, “those high speed pacelines where you are just below threshold on someone’s wheel, then at threshold on the front and you are flying, trusting the bike ahead, just inches off their tire and everyone is on fire, the miles fly by, time suspends and you are dancing, you are a fighter pilot in tight formation, you have no idea of the countryside you pass thru.”

Ridgway is known on the Colavita-NorCal team as the guy who’s always leading the charge for a good cause. Days later, he proposed that the entire team participate in the Napa Valley edition of the Ride to Defeat ALS, which takes place Sept. 27. Seventy-five people will roll in Stimson’s name.

In addition to the ride, the team set about raising funds for ALS research and treatment. That’s where the 49ers connection comes in. Ridgway works in green-building for Channel Lumber in Richmond; Wright is on the sales staff there.

Ridgway was reluctant to bug Wright to sign a ball at first, but another colleague, C.J. Pardini, pushed him. No problem, Wright said.

Ridgway expected a football signed by Wright, who played for the Niners for 10 years, won four Super Bowl rings and twice was voted to the Pro Bowl. He got a lot more. Wright was preparing to play in the “Legends of Candlestick” flag football game at the soon-to-be-demolished stadium on July 12.

He took the football to a walk-through the day before the game, and into the locker room on game day. He asked his buddies to sign their names. This was Eric Wright, a beloved teammate from the glory days, so most of them did.

The result was a ball autographed by 27 of the greatest players in 49ers history, including Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Roger Craig, Keena Turner and John Taylor.

At least one of them had a personal connection to ALS. Lott’s teammate at USC, Eric Scoggins, died of the disease in 2009.

For Wright, it was an easy call.

“I just look at it as, you’re in a situation where if you can just do a little something for the family or the cause, it’s better than saying no and not even lifting a finger,” he said. “… And with our age and stuff, you want to help all you can. We’re probably gonna walk down that road sometime soon.”

Ridgway sort of forgot about the ball. When Wright finally presented the artifact to him at work, Ridgway was floored. Then he noticed one prominent autograph was missing.

“We were sitting there, and Eric was pointing guys out,” Ridgway recalled. “I said, ‘I’m gonna have to write the names down.’ He was still naming names, and I said, ‘Eric, where are you at on here?’ There was kind of a funny pause, and he has this sheepish grin when you bust Eric on something. He said, ‘Uhh, I think I forgot to sign it.’ ”

Wright suggested his name was irrelevant. Ridgway made him sign.

Some of the guys who wrote on the football, like Montana, don’t sign a lot of autographs. To have so many on one ball is a rare prize. That gave Pardini another idea. Rather than offer it for auction, and perhaps raise $2,000 to $3,000 from a deep-pocketed bidder, why not sell offer tickets? That way, common 49ers fans can have a chance of going home with this memento.

You get one raffle entry for every $20 given, and you can find a donation form here: http://webgw.alsa.org/site/TRGiftForm?fr_id=9960&px=4037289.

Stimson has good medical coverage, and has received significant help from the Veterans Administration. He doesn’t necessarily need the money, so all proceeds will go to the ALS Association.

That organization has been all over the news lately with its viral Ice Bucket Challenge campaign. Stimson appreciates how much awareness they’re raising, but he takes a typically grounded approach to the whole thing.

“Forget the ice,” Stimson said. “Get the checkbook out.”

You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com.