Winning all season long

Posted on by Lindsay
I'm still working on race reports from the Boise crit and the Cascade stage race; they're coming (probably), but in this moment, when I'm freshly home from this last trip and sitting at my own kitchen table, I'd rather say this: Being a professional cyclist has made my life. I love it. It's hard, the travel is sometimes exhausting, and the learning experiences keep coming, but it is so wonderful. I see places all over the country that I might otherwise have never seen, I travel with people that have become my family, and I get to ride my bike so much that I never want to see it again and then miss it instantly when the race ends. Sometimes I whine the entire way to the airport because I don't want to go away again blah blah boo hoo but then I do and it's always fantastic. This past trip ...continue reading.

For Cat

Posted on by Lindsay
Oh, Cat. I heard terrible news earlier - that you were hit by a car while riding your bike yesterday - and I feel helpless to do anything while you lay in a hospital bed trying to heal. I just saw you on Thursday night while we were both headed to the 6pm RBC ride, but we barely had time to talk before the ride rolled out. Now it will be a little while before we can talk again and, while I thought about putting these sentiments into a card that could be waiting when you wake up, I'd rather share them here and tell everybody about how special you are to me. I remember the first time we met: it was in the bathroom before the Black Hills Circuit Race in 2011. I was new to road racing, fresh off that bad crash from the week before and somewhat ...continue reading.

Perhaps the third time is the charm

Posted on by Lindsay
Dear Diary, I rode my TT bike for the second time today. It was great! Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. Actually, it was terrible and I hated it. After one hundred and four minutes of riding (not that I was counting), here are the parts of my body that hurt: 1. Neck 2. Quads 3. Feet 4. Lady Parts 5. Forearms 6. Butt My face hurt, too, but that was from so much scowling. It also poured rain on five separate occasions. And did you know you could get stung by a bee through spandex? I didn't, at least not before today. I'm keeping my spirits up, though, and looking forward to taking the TT bike out again for another try on Sunday. I'm certain that time will be much better! And if it's not, I'm going to throw the bike into traffic. Hugs & kisses, ...continue reading.

In which I carb loaded with an entire cake in advance

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Tour of America's Dairyland NCC series The Course: Four 1-hour crits The Field: Pro women The Finish: 2 podiums, 3rd in the NCC omnium At the end of Nature Valley, Team Colavita split off in different directions, with the Canadians going to their national championships, Jamie heading home, and the rest of us driving over to Wisconsin to do the four NCC crits of Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD). Mary was taken out violently* with a stomach virus the day before ToAD began, which left our squad down to four – Jen, Tina, Whitney, and myself. Tina was coming back to race after taking over a month away from racing to recover from an injury, so she was fresh and ready to roll while the rest of us were well-worn from so much time traveling and racing. Even the team van had taken on an old, broken-in, decaying food and sweaty shoes smell. ...continue reading.

Thundastruck at the Nature Valley Grand Prix

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Nature Valley Grand Prix The Course: A 7.7-mile time trial, a 1-hour crit, a 93-mile road race, another 1-hour crit, an 83-mile road race, and a circuit race with 14 trips up Chilkoot Hill The Field: Pro women The Finish: A team effort to bring home the Xcel Sprinter's Jersey In a past life, I would have written a race report for each stage of Nature Valley. However, in that life, I also had free time and motivation and one fewer full-time job. So instead there's going to be one report that recaps the entire race in an efficient manner that allows me to get back to more pressing matters: watching three movies on Netflix. The time trial was an out-and-back just short of eight miles without any significant technical features. Official race rules prohibited use of time trial equipment, which was fine by me. The ride was uneventful - I ...continue reading.

In which we visit Park Tool HQ and proceed to touch everything

Posted on by Lindsay
[caption id="attachment_4393" align="alignnone" width="614"] The main work area at Park Tool HQ in Minnesota. Team Colavita is sponsored by Park Tool and we were invited in for a tour while we're in town for the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Those are all vintage Schwinn bikes hanging from the ceiling.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4394" align="alignnone" width="614"] A bike mechanic's dream work area. I know what to do with approximately 1% of those tools.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4391" align="alignnone" width="505"] This guy has welded every Park Tool professional workstand ever made; he's been with the company for over 35 years. It seemed like the right place for a photo bomb.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4392" align="alignnone" width="500"] Scoots getting ready to race on her slick new ride.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4398" align="alignnone" width="553"] I got a new toy with my name on it.[/caption]