To My Dog

Posted on by Lindsay
Dear Scout, When I first met you, you were tubby and fluffy and covered in filth, trotting down the driveway of the family that was giving you away for free on Craigslist. Some guy had gotten there first and was taking you home, and even though we'd known each other for about fourteen seconds, I knew you needed to be my dog. I followed the guy's truck as he drove away with you, flagged him down into a parking lot, and offered to pay an inordinate sum of money if I could have you. Then you vomited and pooped in my car. We were off to a great start. You were quiet and reserved when you first moved in, spending a lot of time in the armchair with your back to us and peeing on the corner of the bed so often I had to buy a new one. I ...continue reading.

These are a few of my favorite things

Posted on by Lindsay
Over the past six weeks, I spent a lot of time living with a family in Yucaipa, CA that were old friends of our team director. You may know them as the family with the pig. While I fell in love with the pig instantly, it didn't take much longer to become deeply attached to the entire family. Jamie, Pete, and their three daughters started to feel like my own family and I spent so long there that I'm probably one step shy of being added to the mortgage. It was a privilege to spend so much time with them, to join in family dinners, do school and sports practice pick-ups and drop-offs, and to feel like I had found a home on the opposite side of the country. I've missed them since the moment I drove away last week and cannot wait to go back. [caption id="attachment_6095" align="alignnone" width="600"] My home away ...continue reading.

And Then Every Race Is A Win

Posted on by Lindsay
Why do you race your bike? Sometimes (okay, usually) I race for results, whether team or personal. It's easy to get caught up in the placing on the results sheet. Did I win? Podium? Beat that one chick? Was everybody, like, totally impressed? Did I get beaten by that person who I cannot believe was faster, WTF, OMG? Should I hide in the team trailer? The problem with this approach is that you can win one day and come in 48th the next. It could be a crash, a mechanical, poor preparation, crap luck, or just that your legs forgot to show up. I raced the San Dimas Stage Race a few weeks back and had a disappointing time trial, a strong road race, and a crash that broke my bike and ended my chances in the crit at one lap to go, despite feeling great and being in the right position to ...continue reading.

Tucson –> San Dimas –> Redlands

Posted on by Lindsay
[caption id="attachment_6032" align="alignnone" width="400"] On the drive from Tucson to San Dimas, Courteney realized what I meant when I said the Civic was basic.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6033" align="alignnone" width="600"] Suzanna flew into California to join us in racing San Dimas. We had a lovely evening spin previewing the San Dimas TT course, which would have been my favorite ever if it didn't go uphill for 4.25 miles.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6034" align="alignnone" width="600"] Courteney struggled with the idea of turning 24 last month or, as she put it, getting old. Dude, I have shirts older than that.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6029" align="alignnone" width="600"] This is what really happens when girls go wild.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6028" align="alignnone" width="600"] The three of us had quite a bit of fun at San Dimas. From the racing to the adventures at our Airbnb house, the laughs never stopped. Okay, so there wasn't actually much laughing during the racing. Maybe just some barfing and a few ...continue reading.

Happier than a pig in Redlands.

Posted on by Lindsay
Our host family in Redlands has a pig. A tiny, five-week-old pink pig. Her cuteness is almost too much to bear at times. She waddles around, wags her tail, grunts a lot, and always wants to climb into your lap and fall asleep. She drives us all to distraction: nobody rode bikes yesterday. I tried to do corework but ended up holding the pig for 90 minutes instead. If photographing the pig was a sport, I'd be an Olympian by now. But then Courteney put her in my room this morning and stepped out for a moment, and the pig pooped aggressively under the bed. It was messy and disastrous and required a good bit of clean up. The pig wasn't looking so clean herself and badly needed a rinse to be restored to her glowing pink self. Somehow I found myself holding the tiny pig in the kitchen sink trying to ...continue reading.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Posted on by Lindsay
I'm sitting outside for one last sunset in Tucson before leaving for California tomorrow. From one perspective, this trip has been one long series of goodbyes: I said goodbye to home, goodbye to each new place I discovered along the drive across the country, goodbye to Andrew and many of my teammates at the end of camp, and now I am saying goodbye to Tucson. This place has become home. It's missing a few critical things - Andrew, my parents, the pets - but something about it has stolen my heart in a way that will never be undone. When I am alone on the side of Mt. Lemmon looking at the vastness of the hills and the desert while the wind blows, I feel the happiest and most alive. It's not the coffee shops or the great tortillas or the other cyclists; it's just the desert and the mountains and the way the sky is ...continue reading.