(Not So) Pretty in Pink

Posted on by lindsay
As a female biker, I'm regularly confronted with a selection of women-specific bike clothing offered only in various shades of pink, blue, and purple and covered with patterns of flowers, swirls, and butterflies. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. Bike companies even make their women's bikes in pretty colors with "girly" details. I find it appalling; if it were possible, I would join a professional team whose colors were black and black with black accents. Maybe some white sprinkled in, but only in a tasteful way that would not cause a grown man to break out in hives if asked to wear. As a female biker, however, I receive prizes at races that are intended to appeal to females. I got some truly awesome prizes last season (gift certificates! money!) and then some that could be filed under the Oh How Very Pink category. The thing is, bike ...continue reading.

2009

Posted on by lindsay
For the past two years, I have marked the beginning of a new year by listing New Year's resolutions and reviewing how I fared on those from the the previous year. I began 2008 with a single resolution: "Ride my bicycle until I cannot ride anymore, and then keep going until my legs fall off at which point I will use my hands to pedal because that is how champions roll." Aside from the legs falling off part, I broke tradition and actually stuck to my resolution. I started 2008 as a licensed USA Cycling Sport/Category 2 level racer. Throughout the course of the year, I competed in twenty-two bike races, won eleven times, took fifth in my category at the US Nationals, started racing cyclocross, and upgraded to the Expert/Category 1 level for cross-country racing. I also completed the Shenandoah Mountain 100, a hundred mile bike race/death march through ...continue reading.

And that’s a wrap, folks.

Posted on by lindsay
So my racing season just ended for the year. Nine months, twenty-three races, eleven wins, five states, one hospital trip, and more memories than I'll ever remember. I was counting down the last few races, just hoping to get to the end of the season with a pulse, and now that I'm there and there are no more races, no more warm ups, no more overwhelming pre-race jitters that make me want to puke and pee, I want to find somewhere, ANYWHERE to race my bike. Isn't that the story of my life? I can't wait to get to the next moment so I can spend it wishing I was back in the last one. Truly, though, I am happy where I am at this very moment. (You should probably copy and paste that sentence somewhere permanent before it runs screaming off my blog; "I'm happy" doesn't get a lot ...continue reading.

Things That Go Bump In The Night

Posted on by lindsay
Bobby and I fell asleep on the couch tonight, stretched out in a sleepy pile for several hours after a long day. The house was completely peaceful and then suddenly, out of nowhere, came a fantastically loud crash that jolted us both awake. My first thought was OH MY GOD, THAT SOUNDED EXPENSIVE, followed by my rational assumption that Bobby's shaving mirror had crashed to the floor of the shower, taking with it the metal can of shaving cream. As Bobby had gotten off the couch by that point and headed towards the bathroom - presumably to check out the source of the noise - and as I had not heard any reaction from him, I figured my guess was right.Needless to say, I was completely shocked when I walked into the office/bike room and saw that the floor-to-ceiling bike rack holding both of our mountain bikes had fallen over. ...continue reading.

Back by popular demand.

Posted on by lindsay
I suppose I owe the people who are kind enough to stop by here some kind of apology for disappearing and not bothering to write for a month. The last time I wrote, it was all, "I hate life! I hate me!" and then I stopped writing entirely and I'm certain more than one person has checked the obituaries for my name since that post. But I'm not dead; just fatally lazy, and now I'm trying to get back on track. In order to do so, I'm going to do another Bringing You Up To Speed On My Exciting Life post, so that when I reference my new pet jellyfish in a subsequent post, you're not completely lost. That was a lie, as I do not own a jellyfish, but the part about the post was not, so sit back, relax, and turn off your computer, because my life is ...continue reading.