Catharine Pendrel

Just got into Canberra Australia yesterday. It's been quite an adventure! I spent 2hrs driving what should have been 20 minutes thanks to google maps trying to send me on a route that didn't exist! All this time I was driving a right hand drive standard Toyota Yaris with my bike box in the back. I made my way to Tracey and Jeremy Sheppard's place (of Victoria, BC fame) and slapped my bike together with 20 minutes od day light to spare. On my short spin through their neighbourhood I saw 2 kangaroos! a muma and baby. My ride was accompanied by tons of cacatua birds. It's been fantastic to chill out with the Sheppards and their roomie Dale and play the what's so and so up to game. Also had my first mamoth sleep in ages which was delightful! Feeling like I'm in a bit of a time warp though flying from hot and hummid China too a crsip energizing spring in Australia. Today's high will be 15 degrees.

I came to the Olympics with the belief that I was a medal contender, but respecting the level of competition in the women’s field, I was thinking a top 5 would be a great ride. To race all race in medal contention was awesome. I didn’t have to convince myself that this was just another race to keep my head cool for race day. It’s weird but being here has not been overwhelming. It feels right. Like another World cup with more surrounding fanfare. The athletes around me look like me and my friends and everyone is so good at what they do, so the atmosphere stayed relaxed around the village. The preparation . Tuesday was my first training day in Beijing. I got out for 3 laps of the course with Marie. She kept asking me in various sections if this was the same as last year and the answer more often than not was no. The course was more rugged and even more steep climbs had been added. It was a super cool and interesting course, but very tough. Every lap I was doing the steep ch

It’s Thursday and I have just been told that our race will be pushed back a day due to deteriorated course conditions. Whoever heard of a mtn bike race being postponed because it got muddy! Honestly though I feel good about it. We now get to race Saturday at 10 am. So the typical morning race, not afternoon. The men will go after us at 3. I’m feeling good. Got onto the sleep schedule easily. Legs get another day to recover from travel, get another day to know the substantial course changes since last year and it’ll be a better calibre race without the mud. So what are the Olympics like? Pretty rad. Keith and I took the 12 hour flight over on Monday and then I went off to the village as he met up with my parents and cousin Adrian at the airport. Our bus went through security screening to enter the village and then I went through security to get past bus drop off. A COC staffer was there to take me to Canada’s digs and point out the cafeteria, the international zone and so

I'm on route! After two great weeks of training in the Kamloops heat, keith and I were up bright and early to catch our first flight. I was just as nervous heading to the airport as I am for any big race...and it's still 5 days away. I just can't wait to be there. We're now enjoying the perks of the maple leaf lounge as we await our flight to beijing. From there I'll head off to the village and Keith will rendez vous with my mom, dad and cousin. I'll try to put up a little blurb every day to share my experience! Waahhoo

The luna crew enjoying some cappuchinos Sandra and my cousin Adrian at our pancake breakfast in Italy Atop the Fluela pass Our new kitten has taken to breast feeding off of our large male cat Isaa! He doesn't seem to mind though The BBQ I just assembled all by my self!

There are some moments in a race to savour. One of the best has to be looking behind you on the trail in the final minutes of a race and not seeing another rider. With about 4 minutes to go at the MTB World cup Sunday I got to look back at the forest trail I had just covered, seeing hundreds of bike tracks through the mud, but no other riders. With 200m to go I could hear my name being called and knew I was about to win my first World Cup. The eyes started to well and a smile formed which wouldn’t leave for several hours. The venue of my first elite Canada Cup race in 2004 was now the host of my first World Cup win! I woke that morning at about 4am to the sound of pouring rain… and I fell back to sleep smiling. The rain would continue until the final moments of our race. A quick peak at the course prompted me to throw on Maxxis Medussa mud tires. It was a good call with the mud bogs and slick descents. The course, which had been altered recently on account of the large amounts of ra

Thanks again to canadiancyclist.com for the photo You’d think that to ride to 2nd at a World cup you had this phenomenal day where everything fell into place. So it was weird to be racing in 2nd, but feeling kinda flat, like I was still mentally and physically a little sleepy. It had to be the slowest World cup start I’ve ever done…and the reason I was able to lead the first start loop! I lined up with Gunn Rita Dahle on one side and Marie Helene Premont on the other - no pressure! Gunn Rita set the pace off the start with Marie and I moving up to rematch after last weekends’ close race. I ended up leading the start loop side by side with Marie. This start loop in years past usually saw me drop into the 40’s. Going into the climb I was third wheel. Marie was opening on Gunn Rita and I. Near the crest I knew I should try to lead the woods, but my legs didn’t want to attack for the hole shot. The gap to Marie grew. After the first woods section I made a surge to pass GR and try to hunt d