Initial thoughts on being a pro

Posted on by Lindsay
Being a professional cyclist so far is totally cray (in the words of my teammate)! I am now rich and famous, so much so that I sign $100 bills when people ask for my autograph, which is, like, constantly. Okay, none of that is true. Few people know who I am, including people who have already met me before, and cycling appears to not have caught on to that whole "do what you love and the money will follow" concept. I still work full-time so that I can pay my bills and support my eating habits (which another teammate described by saying, "You are a food hustler! You pack away more food than anybody I know!"). But I do feel different now, because when I put on my team kit and head out to train, I can legitimately call it going to work and there is a sense of pride about ...continue reading.

Black Hills: Testing out my Rudy helmet.

Posted on by Lindsay
Before I knew that I was going to the Delray Beach crit, I planned to start my season at the Black Hills Circuit Race in the men's 1/2/3 field. It seemed like a good, low-pressure way to knock out a first race. That plan seemed out the window when Colavita scheduled me to race in Delray, but that race was on Saturday night and I had a 5:45am flight home from Florida (GAH! SO EARLY!), scheduled to land at Dulles Airport at 10:30am on Sunday.  That meant that if everything lined up schedule-wise (and I wasn't too exhausted), I could make it out to Black Hills and use that race as my training for the day. Between post-race events in Florida, late-night packing, insomnia, and a 4am wake-up, I got an hour of sleep and felt less than great when I got home. But I was set on racing anyway, because it sure ...continue reading.

Delray Beach Twilight Criterium

Posted on by Lindsay
Throughout the two years of my road cycling career, I’ve raced without a team. That meant having to carefully choose when to burn matches and always preparing for the finish. The Delray Beach Twilight Criterium last night marked the beginning of a new era – I was part of a pro team and was responsible for protecting my teammates and working towards a finish for somebody else. Going into the race, I felt great. A bit nervous, but nothing like some of the races last year where I felt like I was going to shatter into a million anxious shards or pee six dozen times. It was exciting: my first race as a professional cyclist, my first race of the season after another winter of training, and a chance to ride in nothing more than bibs and a jersey instead of strapping on a dead animal carcass to stay warm ...continue reading.

“Yo so I continued to A1A Beachfront Ave”

Posted on by Lindsay
[caption id="attachment_3944" align="alignnone" width="614"] Seven people, seven bikes, one elevator.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3957" align="alignnone" width="614"] Heading out from our host housing. The place is unbelievably nice. The staff asked us to carry our bikes all the way past the gated street entrance.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3948" align="alignnone" width="614"] Race? What race? We heard there was a beach nearby...[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3950" align="alignnone" width="461"] Hooray! The beach! Sunlight! Oh, shit. SUNLIGHT.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3953" align="alignnone" width="614"] It's March and we're swimming in the Atlantic. I could get used to this pro cycling thing. Remind me to invest in a bathing suit.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3946" align="alignnone" width="614"] Jackie is unhappy because the sea lice are out to get her.[/caption] And here we have Jordan and Jackie getting down to our teammate Leah's sister's song:

I am a [female] cyclist.

Posted on by Lindsay
I read this blog post today after seeing a few complimentary Tweets about it. People said it was a great look at the experience of female racers and the author had this to say about it: I'm a female cyclist and racer, and I couldn't disagree more. Her writing is good, she comes across as warm, honest, and likable, and I don't want to be unsupportive of any chick who is willing to be honest and open about her experiences. But I also don't believe in women waving a white flag against their male riding counterparts and attributing it to being a woman: "However, the rest of the time I'm training with men. Since I am a woman, this gives me an absolutely warped perception of my own fitness and ability simply because when I train with men I am constantly getting my butt decisively handed to me. Oftentimes I ...continue reading.

Training Camp Recap: Despite Everything, Still A Happy Camper

Posted on by Lindsay
Camp was pretty awesome. There was the part where I got violently ill with what later turned out to be norovirus (that crap that takes out entire cruise ships), but other than that, it was great! I didn't do much writing on here while I was there, partially because I was busy and partially because I was busy being sick and lethargic, but I'll try to make up for it with a recap now. The Place Borrego Springs is a small town (population 3,500) in the desert. In the entire time I was there, I did not go to a single store or restaurant, so I don't have much to report on the town. Burritos from Carmelita's were delivered for lunch one day and were quite tasty, so score one for Borrego dining. On the other hand, when I called the owner of one of our rental houses to report a ...continue reading.