4, November 2010

Greetings -

Some of us on the Richard Sachs Cyclocross Team used this past weekend as a chance to rest our souls at the half way point in
the season. Matt Pookums Kraus with one S did not. He was down in New Jersey at the Highland Park CX and had this to say about
the racing atmo (the m now stands for Matt...).

Flying solo to a race is not regular for those in the famiglia squadra sachissimo. In fact it only seems to happen once or twice a year.
While its pretty easy to bear the torch and represent, it is a different experience. Whether its chatting with Deb, casual exchanges with
pookie (ed note: I think that's me, e-RICHIE), grabbing some time with Buddy, shooting the crap with Josh and hopefully soon the lil shaver
(another ed note: he must mean Justin), getting the best pit service this side of the ____ (insert witty geographical place here) it's our racing
family and I like being around it. Us racer types are all creatures of habit even as those habits evolve over times. Over the last two weeks I
found my 2010 inner get ready plan big time. The most important of this new 2010 routine is my new emphasis on riding for at least 20 minutes
BEFORE getting in at least a hot lap and a half during the short course inspection slot. The challenge there is getting my butt early enough to
the venue, but that's fodder for another writing. In the past I have doubled course inspection with my warm up, but now I think that's bunk.
Warming up while inspecting allows you to go slow and see lines, inspect this or that, choose a sneaky way to deal with a transition, etc. But
it's at a drastically different pace than when the gas pedal is on. Now the trainer intervals just keep me loose before its go time. Anyway, back
to the solo trek. Even though I had plenty to do and keep my busy, I missed having the crew around. In between the
to-dos it was a quieter
experience until the gun sounded. I staged on the 4th row from low MAC transactions and as the race funneled quickly I was a cattle in a herd
for about 40 seconds, the same amount I finished behind the leaders - fancy that! I fought hard, raced in a frontward direction for 45 minutes
and played the game well but was not able to mark the top three. I did race aggressively and made the extended podium to grab 5th. Solid, but
not getting me excited. I think we're at the midway point in the season, which is worth noting as a marker for plenty of time for good times to come
with the crew.


The family is down another quart this week as the news from the medical community is that Lil' Justy is done for the season. Following his hard
fall at Gloucester, getting hit by a car (with state marker plates, no less) within 10 days of that, has sealed his 2010 fate as a 'crosser. We're all
in touch regularly so the bonds continue. But the racing is over atmo. The cat's absence will leave a hole that cannot be filled.

Josh, Matt, and me (or is it myself...) will be in Northampton, Massachusetts this weekend for two days of UCI C2 events. It's the Cycle-Smart
International Cyclo-Cross
at Look Park. Hey - bring the family, huh.

Thanks for reading.

e-RICHIE

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