Catharine Pendrel

Yeeeehaaaa! Sue, Rod and Luna (their dog) came up from Fredericton New Brunswick to watch the Luna team race Keith was there for the finish as well as my mom, Dad, Luna Team and some great people from NB. (Thanks for the nice picture Dave. Check out coverage on cyclingdirt.org) I’ve been racing in MSA, Quebec since I started racing elite nationally in 2004. It was always one of my favourite venues and a course I could do well on with its steep demanding climbs and fast rugged descents. Sunday topped all my other race days in Sainte Anne with my first World cup win of the Season and sharing the podium with teammate Katerina Nash. For those that like the nitty gritty race details here you go. This year the organizers made some substantial changes to the course lay out. The hallmark descent was removed and replaced with a rough rocky one, the course looped back on itself even more than usual and 2 short but challenging climbs were added. The women were scheduled for 4 laps and

Today is pretty overcast in Mont Sainte Anne and it has been raining on and off making the course its slickest yet. This morning in preride I felt I was all over the place, but it sounds like everyone was. The organizers have removed the main descent of old and have replaced it with a new scary rocky one. It rode really well earlier in the week, but today was pretty tricky. I had to remind myself that I felt horrible tecnically the day before I won the world cup in bromont last year so am still feeling really good for tomorrow rain or shine. The funny story of the week is from Keith taking Waldek to Tim Hortons the other day. Waldek is a huge coffee drinker, but only believes in quality coffee. When Keith order a double double Waldek thought he was going for a really strong espresso. Never being one to back down for a challenge he also order this "4 shot" coffee. After sipping his coffee though he had to go immediately to the sink to pour out the sugar & cream be

mom and Dad, my super fans After Nationals Keith and I headed to New Brunswick to visit my parents and friends. I'm always blown away by how much forest there is in NB. Without the huge mountains the rolling forested hills seem to go on forever. There are also so many lakes and rivers that it's a great place to get away for some family fun. Dad and I got out for a Kayak on Harvey Lake and Keith and I did a couple rides along the Saint John River. Mom at her book launch for Don Messer: The Man Behind the Music Although she workd full time my mom also has a passion for writing and has just published her 4th book. We got to go to her first launch which was a huge success and a nice chance for me to see a lot of familiar faces from the past. Keith and I also enjoyed a visit to Jonnie's Java for freshly roasted americanos in Fredericton. I also learned from a friend that I too could roast my own coffee as they do! Green beans stay fresh for a long time and you can just roas

Judy's cottage. I loved going here as a kid. It was built in the 1930's by her dad and is on a tiny island. There are about 5 cottages on the island and a large rocks all around it. Great for jumping. I of course made Keith do a lap with me. Judy, mom and Dad on our way out to Judy's cottage. Keith at Magadavic lake Keith and I

So this one took me a while to Post. Kamloops crew at Test of Metal. Kim and Martin B had already snuck off to put Logan to bed. Nick, Ellen, Keith, Me, Mike W, Martin D and Pete. Pete I ran into an old buddy of yours at nationals. A gorgeours sunset in my backyard in Kamloops

Keith and Waldek, my awesome support crew Champagne anyone? Well today went even better than I could have hoped. The clouds rolled in over night bringing temperatures down, yet the rain hadn’t yet begun to fall. Our nationals course was the same course used for the World Cup held in Saint Felicien, Quebec 2 years ago. It is a fun 6+km loop that takes you over a lot of rocky and rooty terrain. All the climbing is singletrack or switchbacks and there are tons of fast bermed corners. After a good start I was 2nd wheel to Marie Helene the defending national champion with Amanda Sin and Mical Dyck close behind. I took over the lead a few minutes in and tried to open a gap in the singletrack. Everytime I opened a little in one section Marie would claw it back quickly thereafter. I thought I was going to be in for a tight battle all day, but before we finished the first lap I had opened 10 seconds which quickly changed to 25. I raced hard to open the gap and was able to extend it

Tent city at our roving base camp. Awesome volunteers set them up and took them down each day. Georgia, Katerina and me in our leader's jerseys Sarah our Chef Extraordinaire, Katerina and me To sum up the week in a couple words would be tough, but after 7 days of hard riding I don’t have a lot of energy to do much more! MTB stage racing is pretty cool. Imagine the biggest group ride you have ever done and times it by 30 or 40. Added to that is that everyone is racing. You move in a fast train slinking through the woods, up and over rocks and roots and down twisty, gnarly descents and then into cringingly hard pacelines along fireroads. Each day offered the 400+ riders seemingly endless singletrack through coastal rainforest and mountain and ocean vistas. Each stage was about 50-70km and for us 2-4hrs. There were 2 aid stations at mid way points on each course with food and drink as even with our mandatory 3 bottles we couldn’t carry enough water for the stages. My favor

The Luna team arrived in Vancouver, BC Friday afternoon for a team first, the BC Bike race. The BCBR is a 7 day stage race that will take us through some of the best singletrack of my home province of British Columbia. The route begins in North Vancouver on the infamous North Shore before sending us to Vancouver Island for 2 days, the sunshine coast for 2 days and ultimately the mtb meccas of Squamish and Whistler. Friday we celebrated the beginning of our adventure with a great team dinner at a Thai restaurant on the water. Saturday, Day 0, we learned about the week to come, signed up for the all important meal times and got our swag. Keith and I also took the team out to the North Shore for a little taste of the first stage’s trails before heading back for a press conference. Day 1: The Epic begins. Today we ride the North shore. Being the first day there are no call ups so you had to get in the start box early to get a front spot. This meant very little warm up even though