Hasta Luego

Posted on by Lindsay
Late one night in October of 2012, Andrew and I stopped at a Mexican restaurant in Vienna for a drink. I'd read about the place a few weeks prior, but our visit was just a random answer to the question of what to do that evening. The bartender (who had been called "surly" in the review I'd read) was friendly and made good drinks, so we decided to come back again soon and have dinner. Our next visit was equally enjoyable. The food was great and the atmosphere was lively and welcoming. We became regulars, stopping in at least once a week, and gradually came to know the staff and other frequent visitors. Fernando, the bartender and manager, became a good friend. Andrew had a dish in the restaurant's computer named after him and I stopped having to ask for guacamole because it would appear shortly after my arrival, along with a glass of wine or ...continue reading.

Acknowledging marital bliss with rancid food

Posted on by Lindsay
Happy anniversary! We made it through our first year of marriage without killing each other, so let's eat some really old cake and see if that does it instead. [caption id="attachment_5505" align="alignnone" width="600"] Nothing like Harris Teeter sheet cake fresh from a year in the back of the freezer.[/caption]

In which I totally like communed with Mother Earth

Posted on by Lindsay
I camped and, despite my initial apprehension, it turned out to be a really good experience. Yes, it was freezing (literally) and I slept for a total of fourteen seconds. But I also discovered that there is something wonderful about the simplicity of being in the middle of nowhere but nature. Before going to bed (and with inspiration from a hefty dose of wine), I convinced Andrew to go on a midnight hike and lay down in the middle of a field to look at the stars. (I would also like to note that it was HE who fussed, "But I'll get my jacket dirty if I lay down!") The moon was so bright that everything was illuminated and the only sound was wind rustling the nearby trees. In that moment, I couldn't figure out why I'd want to go home again. Now I'm back here and grateful for the return of feeling in my extremities, but admittedly, ...continue reading.

Into The Wild

Posted on by Lindsay
I am going camping tonight. OUTSIDE. UGH. This is my friend's idea and because she is my oldest and dearest friend, I agreed. This is the same friend that laughed when I cried out of fear of roaches, though, so perhaps this is all a glorious set-up engineered to make me hugely and hysterically uncomfortable. I do not camp. Being outside is great. I love outside. But when I am ready to sleep or take off my pants, I like to go inside. Camping to me is like, "Hey! Let's grab the calendar and pick a few nights where we don't want to sleep!" The last time I camped was for the Shenandoah Mountain 100 race, and I had just managed to doze off when somebody let me know it was already time to wake up by yelling WELCOME TO THE THUNDERDOME, BITCHES though a megaphone. I love the sounds of nature. ...continue reading.

All of this talk because BOOBS

Posted on by Lindsay
There are a number of people complaining that the women's World Championship road race this past Saturday was not sufficiently exciting to watch. I'm sorry; did you confuse the race with your Netflix queue? The race happened the way it did because that is how the race happened. The racers shouldn't have to implement tactics to make it more "interesting" to watch. I find baseball to be excruciatingly dull, but I am not going to say the the pitcher should be required to juggle and sing while also doing his job just so I am entertained. That is why Gossip Girl is streamed online. Somehow this conversation - like every other that relates to women in cycling - has circled back into the dialogue about equality in our sport. Equality is good. I don't believe a professional male racer is better or worth more than me simply because he's a dude. Frankly, his ...continue reading.

The care and feeding of feelings

Posted on by Lindsay
So here's the thing about this past season. I want to put it behind me and focus on the great things that lie ahead (new team! more racing! the holidays! turning 30! GAHH), but to be honest, I'm struggling to let go of residual feelings that have been festering for months. Anger, disgust, and disappointment to name a few. When I have a lot of feelings, I try to do normal things to manage them like cry, lash out at my loved ones, or eat all of the food in the house. But sometimes that's not a sufficient release, and I have to resort to more drastic measures. I tried coloring my hair red in May using a $6 box of dye from Target because that sort of thing never ends badly. It was dramatically bright at first and got lots of, "WOW, you dyed your hair..." remarks with a notable lack of ...continue reading.