Supermint, Class of 2019

Posted on by Lindsay
After four great years and facing the challenging of finding a new title sponsor, I decided instead to end the program on a high note. I sent the following message to the team on July 1: Team, This is a hard email to write but better to say it here than try to jumble out the words in person when we all know I’d cry. After considerable thought, I’ve decided to fold the team at the end of this year. We’ve had incredible success and grown into an organization that has truly left a mark on American pro cycling. This has been the most incredible adventure with the highest highs, the biggest laughs, the most exhausting challenges, and hundreds of moments and inside jokes I will never forget. Clams. Snarfblatts. Check that drip. The Viking. I could write an entire encyclopedia of our memories. But behind the scenes of this ...continue reading.

Turns out there is more silver lining than cloud

Posted on by Lindsay
For my birthday last October, my dear friend Ivy gave me a necklace: It was more than just a piece of jewelry; it was a reminder and a life philosophy. Get shit done. Keep going. Don't let anything stop you. There was a moment last November when I almost forgot that. Everything felt broken and insurmountable. I sat alone in my apartment in Seattle and wept at the mess I'd made of my life. In that instant, I couldn't figure out how to begin untangling the wreckage of an entirely derailed life plan. But then I got up off the couch and did. One step at a time, one day at a time, with the help of my tirelessly loving family and friends. I got shit done. Now it's time for the next step. I just left home to go on the road for the season. I often write something here ...continue reading.

On exiting 2016 like a bat out of hell

Posted on by Lindsay
What a year! I will forever look back on 2016 as the year that overflowed with joyful moments like slamming into the ground repeatedly, getting my heart pulverized, and finding out we'd elected Trump. What a time to be alive! And yet, in the wake of a year of sometimes crippling defeats, I have never felt more alive, excited, and ready to plunge ahead. So many things happened in the last 12 months. We launched Hagens Berman | Supermint and had an incredible season of highs and lows, victories and learning experiences, and a roller coaster of thrills that took the team all over North America and to Italy for the Giro Rosa. (Meanwhile, I went to Canada. So that's basically my 2016 life choices in a nutshell.) It still feels surreal, yet we're now well underway towards our second season. In my own cycling career, I raced hard, crashed harder, stubbornly kept ...continue reading.

On deciding to retire

Posted on by Lindsay
The first thing I did after deciding to retire was spin for an hour on the trainer. Of course that’s how it would go. I decided to retire; I didn’t stop breathing or being a head case. But I should back up. In early June of 2007, I bought a mountain bike and later that month, I started racing it. By August, I’d decided I wanted to go to the Olympics for cross country racing and by the following December, I was in training. My whole life shifted: my diet became healthier and actually included water, I rode a bike all the time, and every day included some type of cross-training. Sometimes I loved it; others I’d put off training all day and throw tantrums as I dragged myself onto the trainer at 10pm. How I felt about the process was mostly irrelevant – I had a goal and absolute tunnel ...continue reading.

So you want to be a pro cyclist.

Posted on by Lindsay
One of the best things about this past racing season was no longer constantly worrying about signing my next professional contract. When you run your own cycling team, you worry about everything except whether or not you’ll have a job. Jono and I did have a conversation about this few months ago. “You’re hiring me as a rider again,” I said. “You don’t have a choice.” “I could say no, but then you could fire me. And we haven’t talked about whether or not you’re hiring me back as the director.” And so that was settled. After five years of stressing all season about getting a job the following year, it was a relief to let go of that concern and race my bike without thinking about a result on a resume. [Instead I worried constantly about the team getting results to keep the sponsors happy and the team in existence. No pressure.] ...continue reading.

The story behind the Hagens Berman | Supermint Pro Cycling Team

Posted on by Lindsay
The news is officially out: I'm riding for the Hagens Berman | Supermint Pro Cycling Team for 2016, a new women's UCI professional cycling team I co-own with Jono Coulter. A team I co-own. Those are words I never aspired to say. No part of me ever wanted to own a business, especially not one where profitability is irrelevant and breaking even is the goal. I've spoken to people in the past who were all, "I'd love to have my own team!" and I'd laugh and reply, "I'd love to slam my hand in a door repeatedly!" The idea of coordinating sponsors and riders and travel and logistics made my brain melt, especially when I watched teams struggle and fold year after year. As the 2015 season wrapped up, though, Jono and I started talking about plans for 2016. We each had options on the table but also ideas of how we wanted to change ...continue reading.