Lindsay Goes West

Posted on by Lindsay
I made a list of my favorite people last night. Who does that?! It’s weird. To review the people in your life and pick the ones you love the most. It feels ridiculous, like I'm in third grade trying to decide who should be invited to my birthday party. But the list just popped into my head because I knew without hesitation who I'd want to have at my birthday party sharing my cake. I knew because I've spent the last few weeks preparing to say goodbye to everybody around me and when I think about these people, my cake people, it physically hurts to let go, even though it's just for now. I'm getting in my car today - in a moment, actually - and driving to Arizona. By next Friday, I need to be in Phoenix. There I'll ride with my team, race Valley of the Sun, and settle down ...continue reading.

In which I totally like communed with Mother Earth

Posted on by Lindsay
I camped and, despite my initial apprehension, it turned out to be a really good experience. Yes, it was freezing (literally) and I slept for a total of fourteen seconds. But I also discovered that there is something wonderful about the simplicity of being in the middle of nowhere but nature. Before going to bed (and with inspiration from a hefty dose of wine), I convinced Andrew to go on a midnight hike and lay down in the middle of a field to look at the stars. (I would also like to note that it was HE who fussed, "But I'll get my jacket dirty if I lay down!") The moon was so bright that everything was illuminated and the only sound was wind rustling the nearby trees. In that moment, I couldn't figure out why I'd want to go home again. Now I'm back here and grateful for the return of feeling in my extremities, but admittedly, ...continue reading.

Into The Wild

Posted on by Lindsay
I am going camping tonight. OUTSIDE. UGH. This is my friend's idea and because she is my oldest and dearest friend, I agreed. This is the same friend that laughed when I cried out of fear of roaches, though, so perhaps this is all a glorious set-up engineered to make me hugely and hysterically uncomfortable. I do not camp. Being outside is great. I love outside. But when I am ready to sleep or take off my pants, I like to go inside. Camping to me is like, "Hey! Let's grab the calendar and pick a few nights where we don't want to sleep!" The last time I camped was for the Shenandoah Mountain 100 race, and I had just managed to doze off when somebody let me know it was already time to wake up by yelling WELCOME TO THE THUNDERDOME, BITCHES though a megaphone. I love the sounds of nature. ...continue reading.

Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner

Posted on by Lindsay
This past weekend was the TD Bank Mayor's Cup in Boston and the official end of my racing season. Normally at this point I’d do a recap of the year, but I’m not interested in looking backwards. The first half of the season was a disaster; I struggled badly on and off the bike and considered quitting racing entirely. I never want to feel that way again. After the Intelligentsia Cup races, I asked for permission from Colavita to race independently for the remainder of the season. It was a sad moment but also a huge relief, like taking a 300-pound crap. I raced the Chris Thater Crits on my own and was overwhelmed by the warmth and support from the rest of the women’s peloton. Fearless Femme’s director Arounkone Sananikone asked me to guest ride for their team the next weekend at Gateway Cup, and after Gateway they asked me to stay ...continue reading.

Orange is the New Black: Gateway Cup Edition

Posted on by Lindsay
Four weekends ago, I raced the four Gateway Cup crits in St. Louis, MO. Three weekends ago, I raced the Criterium National Championships in High Point, SC. Last weekend, I raced the Thompson Doylestown Criterium in Doylestown, PA. This weekend, I'm in Boston for the TD Bank Mayor's Cup Criterium. It's been a lot of time in the car (because why fly when you can drive and hit every Wendy's along the way) but I have used approximately none of that time to catch up on race reports. And so now here we are, four weeks past Gateway Cup and I'm just getting caught up. And really, even that's a lie, because I'm only posting a bunch of photos. If you want to read about the actual races, allow me to suggest a visit to CyclingNews.com, your #1 source for extremely light and intermittently factual coverage of women's cycling. So, brief backstory: After racing unattached at ...continue reading.

Boom Clap The Sound Of My Heart

Posted on by Lindsay
When I went to registration at Chris Thater yesterday to pick up my race numbers, the man at the table looked down at his registration list and said,"Oh, your team name is blank. Do you want me to fill that in?" I teared up immediately because, duh, I cry over everything. "No," I squeaked. "I'm unattached." He didn't flinch, but I did for what was probably the hundredth time in the past few weeks, since everything went to shit and I bought my new unattached cycling license. It's hard to tell the story of how things unfolded this season without saying too much. Team Colavita has been my home for the past two seasons; my friends, my family on the road, my sole concern in races. I went from being a lone mercenary rider in 2012 hunting for results to being a part of a team plan and I loved the role. ...continue reading.