22, July 2008

Greetings -

I'm back from the Maritimes in Canada, all rested, tan, and thinking autumn. I didn't quite lose the
eight pounds I was hoping for but with all the sit-ups I did get mistaken for a lifeguard several times
at Murray's Harbour. Silly, huh! One of the neat things I did on vacation was to ride lots, and daily, on
what they call The Confederation Trail. Last week I mistakenly referred to it as The Heritage Trail.
Here's a link to what it's all about. For my part, I can say that my week on the trails was the best
'cross-esque riding I've ever done outside of a bonifide race course. The trails have no run-ups,
dismounts, or barriers, but the riding was beyond great atmo*. Bring on the season!

I don't have any major-league level Richard Sachs Cyclocross Team news, so I intend to just post
some random notes in this entry and press the 'send' icon. For starters, Justin Spinelli continues to
show serious fitness and the right level of angst as just this past weekend he raced to a solo victory
in one of the Northeast's most prestigious one-day events,The Yarmouth Clam Festival Road Race
in Yarmouth, Maine. Here's a link to the results. Spinmo is on fire, especially so since he's still
racing alone as his KBS-Medifast team continues its group efforts out in the Midwest. After his
stellar 2nd place at The Longsjo Stage Race over the fourth of July, I am thinking that Justin is
ramping up a notch in the late season and this bodes well for all of us when he transitions over to
cyclocross in September. A big shout out to Spinelli-issimo! If any of you want to follow Justin's
flights of fancy, here's a link that will wet your appetite.

Speaking of links, I have this other pal, Dave B., who also keeps a blog. I know Dave from several
Internet forums I wastetime on. No need to explain. Anyway, the two of us have become virtual pals
and waste further time e-discussing training, and bicycles, and cyclocross, and many related issues.
Dave and his club mates also follow the antics of the RS 'CrossTeam by way of our team blog, the
Richard Sachs 'Cross Reference, where many of these emails go to live after they are sent to
several CC fields. So Dave posted an entry dealing with a common interest - or maybe it's a
common trait - we share and often discuss: Relentlessness. It's a great text and it ties in well with
what we (me, the team, our sponsors and friends) do all Fall. Here's a link to that blog post. Read it.
I hope you enjoy it!

On a related note, sometimes I ask my fellow team mates to pen some thoughts about this sport
we love, cyclocross. This week Dave Genest sent back a gem that I'm excited to share. Before I
paste it in, I'll explain for those who haven't read these team emails before this season, that Dave
is singlehandedly responsible for creating all of this. Way back in the early '90s when I was racing
full time with another crew, Dave - who was already a pal - broached the idea to combine efforts
with a developmental team that he was managing. Long story short, within a year I had switched
my sponsorship efforts over to his camp, and from that point on I worked alongside Dave as he
brought together some of the best riders and other sponsors year after year. It was a treat to watch
him work the room, so to speak. For more than a generation, we'd hit the road on most weekends,
descend on race venues, represent, make memories, and win the occasional race or three, or
thirteen, or... By about the turn of the century (does that sound effed, or what?) Dave shifted gears
and decided to move over and I took the reigns. I have made most of the big decisions for the team
ever since. There's this pithy phrase I use often, and it comes from the Jose Ferrer voiceover in
National Geographic Presents The Living Treasures of Japan. That phrase is "To Surpass the
Master is to Repay the Debt". Here, on the imaginary RS 'Cross Team timeline, Dave was the
master atmo. And here is what he sent over for us to read:

cross is
or was what
got me out of
bed at 4 every
weekend day to
drive a couple of
hours and race in the
rain and snow and mud
but then i grew up and had
a family now two and my motivation
needs and desires changed
360 degrees I found that i
no longer needed to
race cross nor a
reason to get
up at 4 or
drive or race or even
think about cross
it had become a lifestyle
requiring little or no thought
an organic part of myself that
drove me my clock my calendar
my waking hours and dreams and for
those with souls i've heard it becomes a
part of it or for the lucky few of us it
was ours and now i get out of bed
at the same time and ride in the
same weather because it
has to be done and
nothing more like
breathing
dg

I hope you enjoyed that. Thanks, Dave!

Until next time, thanks for reading.

e-RICHIE©™®
www.richardsachs.com
http://rscyclocross.blogspot.com
Richard Sachs Cycles
No.9, North Main Street
Chester, CT 06412 USA

*according to my opinion