In Search of the Wild Reindeer

One woman’s magnificent quest to pick up the pieces when her life fell apart. [ view in [browser](. add bicycling@email.bicycling.com to your address book ] [Bicycling.com]( FOLLOW US [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [You Tube]( [In Search of the Wild Reindeer]( In college I studied philosophy and dreamed of becoming a mountaineer. To fund my explorations, I got a job at the Satin Doll. Sometimes stripping was the best job in the world, but at crucial moments, it was also the worst. I loved ripping off my top and rocking out to Janis Joplin. But I hated the hustle, the way people pretended to be something they weren't. It was a rotten kind of intimacy, and I got lost in it. I graduated from college, and shortly before my 23rd birthday, I quit the sex industry for good. When I left, I promised myself I would never lose me again. Afterward, I got rid of my things, packed up my bicycle, and booked a one-way ticket to Alaska. My Big Plan was to bike south until life made sense again. Strangely, this actually worked. After 3,500 miles of pedaling, I rolled into San Francisco, stronger and happier. My bleach-blonde hair was finally growing out. I moved to Colorado and got a job on a forestry crew. My boss, Sarah, taught me how to sharpen a chainsaw, slice through trees like butter. Down they went, crack and thump. One night I met a guy at a party and asked if he’d hitchhike across Mexico. Two months later we had our thumbs out on the road south of the border. Freedom was the back of a pickup truck, wind in our hair, smell of asphalt and countryside. All the possibilities, open. [READ ON]( [bicycling.com]( [A Truck Hit a Group Ride in Las Vegas, Killing 5 Cyclists and Injuring 4]( The group of 20 cyclists was on an annual 130-mile ride. [Read On]( [bicycling.com]( [Battle of the XC Bikes: Cannondale Scalpel vs. Specialized Epic]( A head-to-head test to finally settle which of the perennial podium contenders is the best. [Read On]( [bicycling.com]( [This Man Found Cycling After Golf Became Boring to Him—And Lost 44 Pounds]( Riding helped him come back strong from a hip replacement surgery and log 5,000 miles the next year. [Read On]( [bicycling.com]( [The Hammerhead Karoo 2 Is the Best GPS Cycling Computer You’re Not Using]( It has a beautiful screen, smart features, and it is easy to use. [Read On]( [bicycling.com]( [Are Flaxseeds Overhyped or Should You Start Sprinkling Them into Your Diet?]( Nuts get all the glory, but flaxseeds are no nutritional slouch either. Here’s why. [Read On]( [bicycling.com]( ©2020 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019 [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Notice](