Catharine Pendrel

After my return from a summer full of racing and travel I took some downtime to enjoy being at home with no where i had to go. Sandra and i had been excitedly planning a weekend in Naramata (near Penticton) full of pumpkin and biking. Jean Ann, Sandra, Keith, Myself, Jeanine and Sandra's mum convened on their cottage thanksgiving weekend for 3 days of hanging out with great food, friends and trails. We had no tv, phone and cell reception on at the edge of Lake Okanagan which we looked out at from the balcony. We fell asleep to waves lapping against the shoreline. Then it was time for my annual cyclocross race at Vanier Park. Photo by Greg Descantes I typically describe cyclocross as all my weaknesses on a bike thrown in to 45 minutes of pain, but by the last 2 laps I seemed to be figuring it out and made my way up to 3rd at the BC Cup. My new Norco CX bike feels great and with some more practice I think I could delve into the world of CX;-) Yeah!! A bike race in Kamloops! Henry Pej

So as the Season winds down I thought I would take this time of reduced blogging to thank a bunch of important people in my life. So in no particular order...... Mom and Dad My parents have always been extremely dedicated and supportive of my brother Geoff and I. When I decided to move to BC and headed west with my mountain bike it was my mom who hauled my road bike across the country to visit me. Mom started her plane trek from New Brunswick on Sept 11th. Yes 2001. Her plane was forced to land in Winnipeg due to the tragic events in the US. Now in Winnipeg with a bike box my mom spent several dayscarting it back and forth to the airport trying to catch a flight before finally settling on the train. It had been raining and the cardboard bike box was now soggy and crumbling. Mum arrived in Victoria tired and vowing to never travel with a bike box again. I don’t think I ever adequately thanked her enough for that. Thanks Mom! Dad was my first sponsor. As Geoff and I got more ambitious ab

PRESS RELEASE BC Athletes to Speak Out Against Tobacco UsePacificSport registered athletes to share “be your best. be tobacco free” message(September 11th , 2007) – The Tobacco Free Sports (TFS) program has a new face – nine new faces to be exact. Starting this month, the Tobacco Free Sports program, a provincial initiative funded by the Ministry of Health in partnership with PacificSport, Alcohol Drug Education Services (ADES) and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), will have nine PacificSport registered athletes representing the program as the Tobacco Free Sports Athlete Ambassadors. “I know I could not have achieved the success I have if I used tobacco products,“ says Kamloops mountain biker Catharine Pendrel, Gold Medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games. “Sport has been a huge influence in my life providing me with great self respect, confidence, identity and rich opportunities. For kids that are tobacco users, I believe setting athletic goals can provide the motivation and peer group