Catharine Pendrel

Every good trip starts with some of this...okay so not too busy for the finer things Bonelli was  a great stop on the Pro xct US cup circuit.  Nice scenery and tough racing.  Scott Tedro and Shoair have invested so much into putting on great races with live coverage, points and equal prize money for men and women.  We need more innovative leaders like him! After 10 days in Templeton we were lined up again, this time at Bonelli Park near San Dimas.  The course was super hilly and tough with little recovery or reprieve from the 30+ degree weather.  After feeling a little conservative in my racing in Texas I wanted to give a full out effort.  I gave everything for 2 laps up the climbs and again it was my teammate Katerina that was my match and taking turns driving the pace.  At the end of lap 2 I decided to try the B line in one section to see how it worked out as a race line option.  In training the difference between the A and B line had been minimal, but entering at speed ...

Maghalie and I were so fortunate to be connected to Edwin and Katrina, friends of the Luna team who love riding bikes, growing good food and sharing a laugh. After 10 days riding the amazing roads and trails around San Luis Obispo, Templeton and Atascadero, eating fresh eggs and garden veggies we were sad to be leaving our new friends, but racing calls! Downtown Templeton.  I guess when you don't need to salt the roads cars last longer   Post ride stop at Avila Beach near San Luis Obispo Not a bad place to recover after training! Catching up with Luna Mechanics past and present.  Awesome seeing ya both! Now we're off to Bonelli for US Cup 2

Racing has begun with the Mellow Johnny’s classic; first stop on the US cup circuit.   After 3 months off racing Luna reunited in Austin for the first trip of 2014.   Cyclists are pretty like-minded, within hours of arriving that evening we ended up at the same grocery store as Team Scott and Kona and got caught up on months off the circuit over a Whole foods dinner. The course in Texas was a ton of fun.   Rocky descents and lots of little rock step ups between twisting fast wooded areas.   The average grade is 0%, but only because every little grunt we go up is balanced by a loose fast descent.   Keeping air in the tires, being well positioned into the woods and heat management were going to be the critical race factors. Race day was clear, sunny and 30 degrees.   I raced conservatively lap one but with a timed hard effort on the biggest climb I was able to grab the lead and take only teammate Katerina with me.   At mid lap there was a non-flagged off corner that I misse