The story behind the Hagens Berman | Supermint Pro Cycling Team

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.

An Update With No Actual News

Hello there! I haven't written anything of substance here in a long time because I have been busy not giving a crap about maintaining a blog. Funny, that. I typically wait until there is something meaningful to say before breaking long periods of silence here but at this juncture, I don't have anything I'm ready to share just yet. There IS news, it's just not fit for public consumption at the moment. There was this one thing I was going to write a full post about, but never made it past the first paragraph so this will have to suffice: Andrew accidentally lost the dog in the middle of the night last week and I got to spend an hour running through the woods in the darkness wearing pajamas and fuzzy slippers screaming "TANNNNNNNER!" (Weird how that hysteria didn't entice him to come closer.) The slippers came to a soggy death right around the time they sloshed through ...continue reading.

FAQ for that photo.

Have you seen this photo? Of course you have. Everybody has. It keeps making the rounds and that's fine - it's a great photo - but I'd like to address a few things once and for all. [caption id="attachment_6330" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo by Stefan.[/caption] Wow, what an amazing photo! Yes. Do you want to see the 76 photos I took of that same moment because I too had a camera and was there? No. Hope he's okay! Women crash too. You should probably work on your cornering. Thank you. Here is some math: I raced 26 crits this year. Assuming 4 corners per course and an average of 30 laps per race, that means I raced through 3,120 corners in 2015, not counting more technical courses, road races, TTs, and training. I ate shit in one of those corners. I feel okay with that ratio. But since you are perfect, please tell ...continue reading.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends

And just like that, my off season has ended and preparation for the 2016 season has begun. I had to take a moment when getting ready to ride today to remember the routine - hmm, heartrate strap, oh yeah, shoes - and the first 50 meters on the bike were wobbly and awkward. But an hour later, it was as if there hadn't been a break at all. I rode too hard, bonked a little, flipped the bird a time or four (a pedestrian clapped one of the times), and made a whole lot of promises to myself that I don't intend to keep. More kale! Less scotch! Strict adherence to base mile pacing! October is the season for optimism. (Mid-December is the season for the trainer and soul-sucking misery.) It's going to be a great year. #fyb2016 #supermintracing

This is how it feels to be last at Worlds.

When Richmond was announced as the location for the 2015 Road World Championships, I slapped a RICHMOND 2015 sticker on the wall in front of the trainer as a motivator. It seemed like a long shot, but the thought of competing at Worlds in my home state - I could drive there in less time than it would take to watch a movie - was incomprehensibly awesome. Unfortunately, my dreams were grander than my results in the following years and it looked like I'd be drinking on the sidelines in Richmond. Then the idea of racing the team time trial (TTT) at Worlds came up last fall and my response was something along the lines of HERE TAKE MY ORGANS AND FIRSTBORN KID IN EXCHANGE. It seemed like an actual possibility and I spent many long rides last winter thinking that just maybe I was preparing to compete at Worlds. Things didn't go according to plan this year, though, and more and more it ...continue reading.

LinkedIn: Strava for Female Pros

Yesterday was exhausting; a 3:15am alarm woke me in Logan, UT so I could get a 6am flight home out of Salt Lake City. By the time 10pm rolled around, I was cranky, borderline incoherent, and overly emotional about things like the dog wanting to pee on too many shrubs. It was an ideal night for an early bedtime, except that as 11pm came and went, I was on my LinkedIn page updating my profile to more accurately reflect my non-bicycle accomplishments. Or, summarized more honestly: to make it clear that I'M A BAWSS, YO. Frankly, I don't give two shits about LinkedIn. It's like Facebook but even less interesting because people don't overshare or rant inappropriately. I would rather watch my nails grow than review my LinkedIn newsfeed and fewer things elicit less excitement than finding out that a colleague wants to connect online. I hardly even want to connect with ...continue reading.