INDIA HARVEY
Words & Images by Dominique Powers
India Harvey started crit racing this year and turned out to be an explosive sprinter, winning her first two Cat 4 races in Los Angeles.
She and I became friends mid-pandemic during a time in which cycling was quickly becoming the undercurrent of the most important relationships in both of our lives. On our first bike ride together we realized that we ran cross-country for opposing high schools in Vermont, and later looked up past results to see that we had finished mere places away from each other at multiple races. In the year since we’ve spent countless hours on the bike together, supported each other’s creative and athletic pursuits, and even started a group ride in LA together called The Local Send.
We’re on the sidelines of the California Bicycle Racing course in Los Angeles and she’s sporting the yellow leader’s jersey as she tells me about her journey with bikes. Through making friends with other cyclists and exploring the community she decided to dive deeper into the sport. She tells me about a theory called “The Newness of Thought”, and explains it as being excited about the prospect of having a fresh beginners mindset, “because you’re starting from the bottom and can only go up from there.” As competitive as the criterium scene is she’s been surprised by how welcoming the sport has been and feels like there’s a lot of resources to improve quickly if you’re passionate about it.
This story is one part of a series by Dominique Powers called Community. Dominique is a renowned photographer in the cycling industry who has a special ability to capture personalities in her stunning portraits. She is based in Los Angeles and connects to her community through the bike. We invited Dominque to introduce us to interesting people she meets during her rides in Los Angeles and travels to gravel events. Community captures people who are living the same ethos as Flashpoint MVMNT: staying positive and having fun while making the bike community more welcoming and inclusive to everybody. We look forward to meeting the people she introduces us to through Community.