"What time are you getting to Rapha?" I texted my co-worker while I was sitting in my car around the corner from Rapha. It was 5:45 p.m., just 15 minutes before our RCC Christmas party started. I knew 80% of the guest list. I know what they do for a living, I know their families …
Gravel Roads + Pastries Lately
One week (and a couple days later) my mud-splattered glasses are still sitting on my desk. My filthy gravel bike caked in dirt is still sitting in the basement. They're reminders of how great the past few group gravel rides were...and I'm tempted to just leave them that way. Thanksgiving was the first. One of …
Off Weekend: Running, Hiking, Ordering Takeout
I didn’t race this past weekend. Not because I’m over it and not because I’ve lost the fire, but because I just needed a break. My race typically lasts just 40-48 minutes, which might not sound long, but if you’ve ever started and finished a cyclocross race, you know it can feel like a firey …
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Cross of the North + A Weekend With My Dad
The last time my dad was in Colorado, he was riding his bike across the United States with my mom. That was 35 years ago, so, it’s been awhile. My mom and dad planned to visit together, spend a long weekend in Boulder and watch me race bikes in Fort Collins. I asked them to …
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Catching up on Monday: Job Rejections, a Podcast, a Sweatshirt, a Bike Ride
One hundred seventy eight. That’s how many jobs I’ve applied to in the past year living in Boulder. Most were local, but every once in awhile, when I was swimming in a sea of rejection feeling frustrated and defeated, I would send my resume to cool shops in Seattle, Portland, or NorCal—cities with good riding, …
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CX Race #4: DNS
DNS means "did not start." But really, it was more like: did not get out of car. I was pumped about this morning's race, but here's what happened... The directions to Siena Lake landed me in the middle of Broomfield with no course in sight. When Google maps said I had arrived at my destination, …
Feedback Cup: CX Race #3
Staring up at the sky, the taste of blood in my mouth, my heart hammering like a brick in my chest, I closed my eyes and let the world spin like vertigo. I’d just finished my third cyclocross race, winning my category for the second time. I draped my arm over my face, the crook …
“Every pedal stroke is a question mark.”
The podcast host was telling the audience about Super Flag, a painfully steep climb here in Boulder. The last kilometer gets so steep and the quads and the lungs burn so much that it feels almost impossible to reach the top without getting off the bike and walking. I know how that climb feels, and I’ve …
Schoolyard Cross: My Second Race
On the eve of my third race, I still haven’t written about my second. Here it is. I realized the second cyclocross race was when I started to have expectations. I was afraid of that. My first race was an afternoon of blissful ignorance; my only goal was to stay upright and finish in one …
Let It Be Enough. And Other Things I Thought At My Desk
Sometimes my mind wanders...here's where it went this afternoon: (1) One of my friends ran a marathon this weekend. An Internet friend. We’ve never met, but I know she’s the shit. She posted about it all over social media, and I loved following it. I was really excited for her because she was really excited …
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