Day 1 in which I flee the state

Posted on by Lindsay
Journey: Reston, VA to Knoxville, TN Number of times I gave the finger: 2.5 Cups of coffee: I brought one from home, bought one at a roadside Starbucks, and was given a free extra one by the barista. So that's approximately a quart of espresso. I'll sleep next Tuesday. Trucks filled with live chickens: 1 Grocery stores with clientele I hope to never see in a dark alley: 1 Notable location: Cave Mountain Lake, VA...the birthplace of indecision. Food of the day: Snapea Crisps. They're horribly addicting. I didn't even make it 50 miles from my house before opening the bag and was done with all 3.5 servings in a few hours. Try them. You will thank me (and curse me). Even my husband - who hasn't eaten a vegetable in this millenium - likes them. Today was the trip from home to my first overnight stop in Knoxville at a place I found through Airbnb. Hooray ...continue reading.

Lindsay Goes West

Posted on by Lindsay
I made a list of my favorite people last night. Who does that?! It’s weird. To review the people in your life and pick the ones you love the most. It feels ridiculous, like I'm in third grade trying to decide who should be invited to my birthday party. But the list just popped into my head because I knew without hesitation who I'd want to have at my birthday party sharing my cake. I knew because I've spent the last few weeks preparing to say goodbye to everybody around me and when I think about these people, my cake people, it physically hurts to let go, even though it's just for now. I'm getting in my car today - in a moment, actually - and driving to Arizona. By next Friday, I need to be in Phoenix. There I'll ride with my team, race Valley of the Sun, and settle down ...continue reading.

Thirty is the new awesome

Posted on by Lindsay
I turned 30 on Halloween. Sometimes I'm still astonished that I'm old enough to drive and buy alcohol and eat as much dessert as I want, but then I think about being 30 and realize that teenagers would consider me old. Teenagers are stupid. Get off my lawn. My birthday was so enjoyable and reminded me how fortunate I am to have such wonderful people in my life. I don't feel young or old or concerned about the number at all; I just feel pretty damn lucky to be where I am right now. [caption id="attachment_5564" align="alignnone" width="600"] The result of a night of pumpkin carving with Dad, Andrew, Mike, bottles of Scotch and wine, and several pints of Ben & Jerry's. Yo dawg, I heard you like pumpkins, so I carved a pumpkin into my pumpkin.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5555" align="alignnone" width="600"] These are my parents. The family resemblance is undeniable.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5568" align="alignnone" width="600"] When my mother presented ...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.

Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner

Posted on by Lindsay
This past weekend was the TD Bank Mayor's Cup in Boston and the official end of my racing season. Normally at this point I’d do a recap of the year, but I’m not interested in looking backwards. The first half of the season was a disaster; I struggled badly on and off the bike and considered quitting racing entirely. I never want to feel that way again. After the Intelligentsia Cup races, I asked for permission from Colavita to race independently for the remainder of the season. It was a sad moment but also a huge relief, like taking a 300-pound crap. I raced the Chris Thater Crits on my own and was overwhelmed by the warmth and support from the rest of the women’s peloton. Fearless Femme’s director Arounkone Sananikone asked me to guest ride for their team the next weekend at Gateway Cup, and after Gateway they asked me to stay ...continue reading.