18, November 2009

Greetings -

Wow it's almost Thursday and I am only now getting to the Richard Sachs Cyclocross Team's routine
shameless update. Apologies in advance are in place, because I suspect this missive will be chock (or is
it chocked) full of links and links to other links. Does that make the latter links-in-law atmo? Dunno. As
has been the case since the late summer, the team had another successful race weekend at the USGP
of Cyclocross held in Mercer County Park down in the Garden State. There have been SO many articles
and image pages generated from those two days of racing that I'd spend days culling them for this email.
So, in inimitable fashion, I'll stick with only the stuff that's what I think of as me-centric.

Before I go to the links, I must add that my term of unemployment is nearing an end. Well, it may not truly
be unemployment, but the move north to Franklin County and all that's been entailed with getting a new studio
dialed in - all of this has contributed to quite a long spell of inactivity for me as a framebuilder. I'd imagine, based
on the progress going on here at the property, that the studio will be done and move-in-able in another four weeks.
Once inside, it's a crap shoot as to whether I am working in a day or in another several weeks hence. This will be
my fifth studio space since 1976 and the only one in which I am the original tenant. The footprint of the building is
22' by 30' and the peaked roof allows for a 15' cathedral ceiling on one half with a loft/storage space on the other.
I have been trying to document the progress and sending the images to Flickr. Click here XOXOXOX and see all
of the pics loaded newest to oldest.

Regarding the races this weekend, I was able to spend my couch time on Monday looking for the best pictures a
the nicest cats on the 'cross circuit, riding the most awesomeness awesomed bicycles imagined by anyone using
a label gun. To that end, I have compiled TWO seperate picture link dumps that show ALL of the images I could
find of anything remotely RS 'Cross Team related from this past Saturday and Sunday. Got two weeks to live?
Scroll through the links on these two links and it will seem like two years. Here are the critical 1s and 0s to either
impress you or just bore you out of 'cross completely. Click here XOXOXOX and here XOXOXOX to see hotness
from the lenses of the East's best shooters. Lastly (not), if you want to see my own G10's batch of Poloroids from
this weekend, please click here XOXOXOX .

So how did the racing go, you ask? It went swell. We were rawesome (the R is silent atmo). The results speak for
themselves: Dan Timmerman had a most excellent finish on Sunday with an eighth place in the Elite Division. Matt
Pookums Kraus with one S double podiumed in the Masters 35+ races with a second and third respectivley, and I,
Mister Sullen Gameface himself, got the hat trick and won both days in the 55+ events. We are superior atmo.

But results are never the raison d'etre (that's french for reason d'etre) for the RS 'Cross Team. Our goal is to represent
well, make memories, and - what was that other one? - to help one another achieve personal goes yada yada, blah, blah.
We covered all these bases in spades this weekend atmo. The success of our race weekend in Mercer County was very
heavily tethered to the fine relationships we have with each other and with the many who support the team. For me, the
closest and biggest support comes from my wife, a.k.a. The Lovely Deb. TLD has the dubious honor of being a Scorpio,
and that means every few years her birthday falls smack dab on a race weekend. This was one of those weekends. Deb
accompanies me to all the race venues and selflessly assists all the riders in prep, energy work, and also is ground zero
at the pits for every race. No one parts a crowd at a 'cross race, especially in the pits, like TLD. She is deserving of more
love and gratitude than any man can possibly express, but I (as well as my team mates) am here to acknowledge that none
of this would work as well, as smoothly, and for as long as it has, without Deb being there for me and for all of us atmo.

And speaking of successful relationships and enjoyable weekends, I want to make a special shout out to some from among
our sponsorship ranks who appeared at the USGP and made the weekend real special like! First props go to the Fat Men.
As a group, these cats are a big macher (Yiddish - look it up, huh) among the RS 'Cross Team's support system. The men
were out in force on Sunday and it was a pleasure to see them and share the good times. Here's a group shot of us XOXOXOX .
Data point: not all are men, and no one is fat. Go figure.

Also deserving major league mention here is Joel Ankey from our primary sponsor, RGM Watch Company in Mount Joy,
Pennsylvania. Joel spent both days at the venue, racing first thing each morning, and thereafter for the remainder of both days,
was there helping all of us get ready for our events and working the pits for me, Pookums, Dan, and Josh and giving TLD the
extra hands and legs needed to ensure the racing went without any gaffes. Here's a pic of Joel at day's end, relaxing after
giving us his all. Click XOXOXOX . Forza, Joel, and many thanks for your tireless effort and companionship this weekend.

I'll close this text by mentioning that another sponsor was present on Sunday, a sponsor named William Threadgill. Bill has
been one of the behind-the-scenes cats for the past few seasons and, while he doesn't come to us to promote a brand or to
command space on the team clothing, he's always there to help, and remains 100 percent interested in what we do as well
as always there to help us do it a wee bit easier. Bill's smiling face deserves its own link here, so click here XOXOXOX to
see what a real mensch (Yiddush - look it up, huh) looks like. Bill was so kind enough to also sponsor this past Sunday's
gourmet buffet. It was a feast that would turn any Giants Stadium tailgate-er green with envy. Yum atmo XOXOXOX . I
asked Bill to reflect on his day with the RS 'Cross Team and he was more than kind enough to send these words -

Richard,
It was a treat to spend time with the team and be a part of the RSCT Spéciale Service Course (which, as you might say, is French
for “Special Service Course”) for the day. It was also a pleasure to finally meet The Lovely and Tireless and Ever-cheerful Deb. Having
watched the Mercer Cup as a spectator for the last two years, the perspective this year was very different. It’s amazing what a major
effort it is to get everything to run smoothly weekend after weekend - from the logistics and equipment, down to the littlest details.
Granted, working in the pits on Sunday was a bit like being a Maytag repairman compared to Saturday (when riders were pitting twice
each lap), but it was still exciting. It was also gratifying to do my small part to help the team. But the most exciting and gratifying part
was watching the guys killing it - you could tell that they were able to focus completely on the race and left everything out on the course,
and that is a beautiful thing. Chapeau to all!
Regards,
Bill T.

Thanks to all of our sponsors, supporters, and friends. This past weekend is officially in the books. If you made it this far
down the email, I'm here to say it's over. Glee starts in seven minutes and I am not missing this week's episode.

All my best -

e-RICHIE