About that Kit
I’ll be the first to
admit I have a dream job. I get to
travel the world riding and racing my bike, chasing exciting goals, and
prioritizing health and fitness. Yes, sometimes training and racing is hard,
really hard, but I love what I do and that makes everything worthwhile. For 11 years, I have happily
put on the blue cycling kit of the ClifBar (Luna) Pro Team for every training
session (and still will for all UCI events). That adds up to a lot of time in Blue!
So, when Garneau gave me the opportunity to design my own kit I knew I wanted
to make something totally different.
Something playful & fun that showed my non-serious-racer side, a
side of my personality that has been as important as work ethic and drive to find
success at the World Cup level of mountain bike racing.
Fun is Fast!
Fun is
what keeps you motivated and loving what you do. It is what allows you to put
in big hours in tough weather, to smile when you’re exhausted or discouraged,
to see a race as an exciting challenge rather than a sufferfest and to keep
your goals in perspective when they take longer to fulfill than you had hoped.
Keeping fun at the essence of what I do, even when it’s time to get serious, is
what keeps me striving for more.
So, when Garneau
asked, “What do you want to have on your kit?” My answer was pretty quick and
short. “Rainbows, unicorns, mountains
and trees! But not on blue!”
Rainbows and unicorns
for the kid in me that gets inspired by the idea of magic and wonder and also
the adult that knows a big part of finding the best in yourself on any given
day is believing that anything is possible.
On my back-right
shoulder is a rain cloud with colourful raindrops because every situation is
what you make of it and with no rain, there’s no rainbows. A little adversity
is what helps you shine!
And, well rainbows and
unicorns just go together. I wore
rainbow and unicorn socks at the Olympics when I rode to a Bronze medal in 2016. Socks are one of the few personalized items
you can get away with while competing at the Olympics and I wanted them to have
the fun magic feel I wanted to experience there.
Horses, not bikes or unicorns,
were my first love. Working with them was a huge part of my learning the work
it takes to create the opportunities you want in life. Earning cycling’s
coveted rainbow stripes of World Champion has a lot to do with the hours spent
cleaning horse stalls, always knowing that putting the work in was worth it.
The mountains and
trees? Well those are for the places
where I most love to be and that keep me centered. Whether riding horses or bikes, hiking or
camping, solo or with friends and family, I feel my best energy outside
surrounded by mountains and trees. They both
calm me and energize me so definitely have earned a place on this kit
Quick C? Yeah that’s me! I’ve been part of an amazing all women’s
powerhouse team for almost my entire career.
Not only are the Clif Team women incredible athletes, advocates and
people, they are also a ton of fun! At
team camp last year, while keeping ourselves smiling during hours of trying to
capture action and team shots we started rapping, cause you know, that’s what
cyclist do right? We decided we all
needed rap names and mine became Quick C.
Make sure you watch for my teammates custom kits to learn their
nicknames. We’d love to hear them
cheered at any of the races!!!!
What’s in my back pocket aside from ClifBars?
Well, not a unicorn,
but also magical.
Walking into the closing ceremonies of the 2012
Olympics, I wasn’t sure I really wanted to be there. I didn’t feel like celebrating. Whereas in Beijing, at my first Olympics, new
to international racing I finished 4th and had felt like an ecstatic
kid at the closing ceremonies, in London, I felt like a failure. I had come to the Games as an experienced
performer and serious contender, the World Champion and World Cup leader set on
winning. I came up far short in 9th. I was devastated. But I was still at the
Olympics!!!! I couldn’t sit out on something as special as the closing
ceremonies feeling sorry for myself, could I?
The closing ceremony had that gritty urban
London Grunge vibe to it which didn’t help my spirits, but with every closing
ceremony and Olympic opportunity won or lost there is also a new beginning, new
hope and a new challenge.
When the ceremony scenes transferred from
London to Rio the stage lit up with vibrant colour, life and excitement and
before the torch for London was extinguished the symbolic creature in my back pocket
rose from the flames. It symbolized rebirth
and was exactly the message I needed to go back to being the Kid that found joy
in simply riding her bike as fast as possible.
I carried that idea forward with me to Rio- the belief that I had the
opportunity to rise again and just ride my bike as fast as possible. Check out what is. It’s in the pocket below
the maple leaf always ready to rise.
More than just Clif Bars in my pockets! |
Life and racing isn’t always rainbows and
unicorns, but there should always be room for a little magic, mountains and
trees!
If there is someone in your life who loves
unicorns and a little magic (and how could there not be!), these kits are
available online here. Hope you love it!
Thanks to Louis Garneau for their help putting
my ideas into an awesome design! Kit available until February 11th only! Working on getting youth sizes!!!
INT : https://ppr.louisgarneau.com/CliffTeamCatherinePendrel8EXLG017INTORDER
USA: https://www.lgpickpayride.com/Cliff_Catherine_Pendrel_180270PPR_USA_ORDERS_ONLY
CANADA :https://ppr.louisgarneau.com/CliffTeamCatherinePendrel8LG0440PPR_CANADA_ORDERS
USA: https://www.lgpickpayride.com/Cliff_Catherine_Pendrel_180270PPR_USA_ORDERS_ONLY
CANADA :https://ppr.louisgarneau.com/CliffTeamCatherinePendrel8LG0440PPR_CANADA_ORDERS
Studio Photos: Ross Outerbridge
Check out my teammate's custom kits on the Garneau blog
Check out my teammate's custom kits on the Garneau blog
Lea’s jersey https://blog.garneau.com/en/blog/design-your-own-custom-cycling-kit-lea-davison
Hannah’s Jersey https://blog.garneau.com/en/blog/if-i-had-a-nickel-the-inspiration-behind-hannah-rae-finchamps-custom-cycling-kit
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