Last weekend, brought to you in part by not racing

Posted on by lindsay
The weekend started in a haze, with a recovery ride on Friday evening that came on the heels of an all-nighter at work. Riding on no sleep after 27 hours at the office and a hard set of intervals from the previous day (does it even count as a separate day if you haven't gone to bed yet?) was like being high (not that I've had the experience of knowing what that's like, of course, innocent flower that I am). Music sounded incredible, cars speeding by were surprising and terrifying even though I was riding on the road where cars are sort of the norm, and at one point I was pretty sure large animals were peering out at me from the bushes. Then I stayed up late to watch Dance Academy, because I need Australian teenagers more than sleep. Saturday was a blur of still being very tired. I ...continue reading.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted on by lindsay
I love Valentine's Day. Candy, flowers, sweet things, red and pink, bubbles, ribbons, sparkles, puppies...I want to be marinated in this festive crap. I'm serious; I'm even sitting here wearing a ridiculous flower in my hair: Okay. That's too much. My teeth hurt from all of that sweetness. And to be honest, I grabbed that flower off one of my Chanel boxes and superglued it to a hair clip while riding the trainer this morning. So really, this is probably more appropriate: But it's still a great holiday. What? You hate it and think it's manufactured by Hallmark? That's so original! You must be the first person ever to boldly make that assertion! It's a good thing that there are no other holidays that are over-commercialized [Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Every Other Holiday That Is An Excuse To Sell Cars At A Discount]. However, while you are taking ...continue reading.

Snippets

Posted on by lindsay
[1] On Monday, some tremendous asshole person in the parking lot of my office opened their car door into mine and left scuffs and red paint. I love my car and try to keep it pristine, so this was very upsetting. By Tuesday, attempts to locate the perpetrator had failed and I whined to a friend by email, saying that it had made me cranky for the past two days. He replied, "Somewhere in Africa, a child is without food..." [2] When I got home from work today, I asked the dogs, "Ready to go outside?" But then I stopped for a moment to put my groceries away and when I turned around to the open door of the refrigerator, Scout was trying to find a way to climb in. I guess when you are blind and it is winter, an open door through which cold air is coming seems like ...continue reading.

Things That Go Bump In The Road

Posted on by lindsay
I am coming down with a cold. This is a minor inconvenience, really, but as a cyclist in the throes of winter training, it is also derailing and frustrating. I wanted to (okay, that's a lie, perhaps 'felt the need to' is more fitting) go to the gym today to stay on schedule, but as the day progressed and my symptoms worsened, I settled for having an ice cream bar, two lattes, and a large serving of pumpkin seeds. [Side story: At my parents' house last night, my father was eating home-roasted pumpkin seeds out of a bag of more pumpkin seeds than I have ever seen. He explained that he collected the neighbors' old pumpkins and gutted them to get the seeds. The pumpkins, not the neighbors. He boasted that he still had several more pumpkins to carve so we could have even more seeds. Other subjects we covered ...continue reading.

The Best Way To Win At DCCX Was From The Sidelines

Posted on by lindsay
My day began with the 10am Sunday ride. Apparently Russ L. has been hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains recently (hiking? isn't that something cyclists do only when stranded with a flat?), so he was less inclined to tear my legs off on the hills of Maryland. That was nice, except for the part where other people (Eli!) did that instead. (Don't let his perfectly-combed hair fool you; beneath that lies a savage animal waiting to strike when you're down.) I resisted becoming a droplet [drop*let n. one who has been dropped] and finished the ride feeling like I'd suffered sufficiently to earn a day of standing in a field, drinking and watching other people suffer. Which brings me to DCCX. To all of you who raced, please accept my warmest expression of gratitude. Without you and your insane willingness to run up hills and leap over barriers while carrying your bicycle, ...continue reading.

The Beginning of The End

Posted on by lindsay
It is 11:06am and in one hour, I will leave my hotel in Boston to ride my bike downtown for my final race of the season. My hands are shaking as I write this, partially from pre-race nerves and partially because I cannot believe I am here, at the end of this incredible season. When I began racing back in March, I was riding my Seven cross bike with slick tires and planning to do a few road races as training for my first season as a pro cross country mountain bike racer. Now I am a road racer. I have the bike, the team, the clothes, the scars, and most of all, the heart of a road racer. A more thorough recap of this year will have to wait until after this race, since I'm in no state of mind to remember details clearly. Right now, it's all a ...continue reading.