Speed Week: Electric City Circuit

Posted on by lindsay
The Race: Speed Week Electric City Circuit Race The Course: 40 laps, 2 corners, very open course with a "D" shape The Field: Pro 1/2/3 women The Finish: 8th + a $100 prime It is starting to feel like the end of Speed Week. While I'm growing tired of moving in and out of hotels and trying to piece together balanced meals on the road, I'm also sad knowing the end is coming. I'm in the final hotel now and, after the last race tomorrow, I'll be heading towards home. With the end of this experience on my mind, today went by so quickly. Left Spartanburg, drove to Anderson, raced Electric City, drove to Sandy Springs, settled in for the night. The race felt like little more than a (hot, tiring) blip on the radar. It went fine. I was satisfied with my riding - it wasn't perfect and I'd like to have ...continue reading.

Speed Week: Spartanburg Criterium

Posted on by lindsay
The Race: Speed Week Spartanburg Criterium The Course: 50 laps, 4 corners, some wind The Field: Pro 1/2/3 women The Finish: 9th After winning at Walterboro, I was flying high for that night and through most of the following rest day. I hugged my podium flowers, made jokes about wearing the winner's jersey to bed, and generally basked in excitement. And then by last night I remembered that I am me and that means I don't just look a gift horse in the mouth, I give him a full dental exam. Thoughts like, 'now I have to keep doing well or people will be disappointed in me' and 'what if that win was just a fluke' took over. It culminated in anxiety tears over lunch at Olive Garden today, which is ridiculous. The only reason to cry at Olive Garden is because the food is terrible. I did my regular warm-up (which usually hurts ...continue reading.

Speed Week: Walterboro Criterium, in which I won

Posted on by lindsay
The Race: Speed Week Walterboro Criterium The Course: 25 laps with 4 corners and 2 bends The Field: Pro 1/2/3 women The Finish: 1st. I won. Seriously. Even I can't believe it. Sometimes before a race, I feel good, like things are going to go my way. Sometimes I feel ambivalent, and sometimes I feel a sense of doom like something bad might happen. What I have realized is that these feelings mean nothing. At the first day of the Air Force Cycling Classic last year, I had a bright sense of promise and excitement...and then I did not have a good race at all. Yesterday, I was nervous, tired, and somewhat pessimistic about the upcoming race. And then I won. The Walterboro course has rough pavement, a few bends and corners, and a lead-in to the end with two tight corners and a narrow finish stretch. I knew that I would have to ...continue reading.

Speed Week: Beaufort Criterium

Posted on by lindsay
The Race: Speed Week Beaufort Criterium The Course: 50 laps with 4 corners The Field: Pro 1/2/3 women The Finish: 9th I've procrastinated long enough in writing this report that it's nearly time to head out to race Walterboro. Let's make this quick. Things That Were Good: I got my first call up at a national level race. It was awesome! I've never had the chance to roll up to the back of the field and be like, "excuse me, excuse me" to get through to the front. When I got to the start line, I wanted to tell the people on either side of me how cool it was, but they looked busy getting ready to race and be serious and stuff. When it came time to get into position with a few laps to go, I was able to get to the front and be in contention for the sprint. I did ...continue reading.

A Peachy Ride in Georgia

Posted on by lindsay
Yesterday was a day off from racing, but not from riding. After a quick breakfast at the hotel (wherein I cringed and chewed through two patties of mystery meat in the name of protein loading), I set out for a 2-hour endurance ride out and back on a rural highway in Georgia. It was more noteworthy than anticipated: 1. At one point, a truck barreled by and what sounded like a gunshot echoed tremendously. I froze for a moment and then swerved sharply into the grass alongside the road and waited to die. Nothing happened, except I may have peed a little. 2. A few miles later, a pit bull came racing out of somebody's yard and chased me down the highway. It was terrifying, but I had the good sense to at least start sprinting while also shrieking and starting to cry. 3. I did stop to get some ...continue reading.

Speed Week: Roswell Criterium

Posted on by lindsay
The Race: Speed Week Roswell Criterium The Course: 60 minutes of racing on a mostly flat course with 5 corners The Field: Pro 1/2/3 women The Finish: 6th Spring may have sprung in the DC metropolitan area, but down in Georgia, it might as well be the middle of August. A few minutes into my trainer warm-up, I was drowning in sweat and debating about where to hurl the Honey Stinger chews I was choking down. I'm still in wind-vest-and-crisp-evenings mode; wringing-out-my-helmet-and-desperately-drinking-from-lawn-sprinklers mode is something that generally happens gradually. By the time I went to the start line, I was dripping and swaying unsteadily. My start was not good. I had a decent position in the second row until the final roll to the line after call-ups, when somebody shoved me and her own teammate out of the way to get closer to the front. Then she failed to launch and failed to ...continue reading.