7, December 2010

Greetings -

As a varsity team procrastinator, a poster child for ADD, as well as a champion of the low word count post (please don’t mention terms like
Zen-shortened 
or sound bite, huh), I wonder where the time goes and if I've sat still long enough to savor the memories I am so vigilantly
reminding others that we, the Richard Sachs Cyclocross Team, are here to make. It often seems like one continuous wave we are riding,
year after year. We race, we stop, we plan, we rearrange, and we race again. Lather, rinse, and repeat atmo.

We are one race weekend away from closing the books for 2010. I am on a plane heading for Bend, Oregon where Josh, Matt, and myself
(or is it “and me...?”) will race the National Championships. After that, as has become the norm, we’ll cherish the good times we’ve had,
second guess some of the what-ifs, and go our separate ways for a while.

Unlike so many other seasons on the road, or iterations of sponsors and riders, this one seemed like an autumn in transition. For us, the
moons lined up a certain way, and in a heartbeat we became a Ménage à Trois (that’s French for three for dinner). Typically, everything the
RS ‘Cross Team
touches and is touched by is planned nearly a year in advance. There was a real contrast between what was expected once
September arrived with what we actually brought to the table when that first start pistol was fired. For whatever reason, we had one rider who
decided two days before that first race that the demands on him from his 2011 road program precluded racing the very ‘cross program we spent
countless months setting the table for. (Yes, I was supremely disappointed, but I said to myself, this is the business we've chosen; I didn't ask
who gave the order, because it had nothing to do with business!
). Then, about three race weekends into the schedule, pal and team sponsor,
Lil Justy, hit the deck at Stage Fort Park and would be sidelined for a month or so. Fate showed us who’s boss when, two weeks later, he was
hit by a car, making some injuries worse, as well as adding several new ones. Season over. And then we were three atmo.

Many of you have read the previous thirteen or so missives from the 2010 season and know that we missed our sidelined team mates atmo.
Regardless of our trio status, we forged ahead with the same determination and aggressive attitude that have become our stock in trade. The
three of us were at each race venue to represent our sponsors, to make memories, and to race well. Nothing had changed. The last month has
seen Josh and Matt at the front of all races as well as finishing in the top five with each start. As results go, the RS 'Cross Team has been getting
it done. My own finishes have been a smidgen less remarkable than last year's, but I am still in the first ten on a regular basis. As a group, we have
a few less wins this season, but the efforts were there and I've never be prouder to be part of all this. In a nutshell, despite having our little program
sliced in half, we didn't miss a beat, or a cue, or find reasons to half-pedal and wait for next year, or anything remotely similar atmo. Mad props to
Josh and Pookems, as well as to Alie and Tali, and to, of course, the to master of the pits - TLD herself - for what has been a complete season for
the RS 'Cross Team.

Thanks to all of you who support us, follow us, and race against or with us atmo. One more race to go.

e-RICHIE
 

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