Race plan – ride my own race with nice consistent laps (not go out hard at the start- I have made that mistake before!), get my food right (new Torq Nutrition products) and make it to the morning feeling good! Sounds easy doesn’t it?
After a lap for ‘Willo’ the racing started and I managed to move myself slowly through the ranks from my average start position of 105. The course was the usual for Majura – flowing single track with two small pinchy climbs but still surprisingly harsh on your body! I was feeling comfortable both in the head and the legs rolling around chipping out consistent lap times and my eating and drinking was going great. As night fell my crew updated me with positions and I found I was sitting in 10th place- still a long way to go and anything can happen! Unfortunately it did – to me!
Around midnight I started to feel a little uncomfortable around chamois area and with a battery change I took the opportunity to top up with a slather of chamois cream. This lasted until the next battery change a few hours later but my behind was definitely becoming more uncomfortable. I lathered up again and shot out for my next lap. As I sat down on the saddle into the first section of single track I just about let out a scream as the chamois cream oozed into the cuts on my tender little behind! I rode that whole lap out of the saddle. On my return to transition, my unfortunate pit crew had to witness the mess that my behind had become – I just wanted a second opinion just so I knew I wasn’t being soft! So despite feeling mentally fantastic and my legs feeling like they could tick away endlessly it was decided that I should withdraw due to a skinned little behind! A disappointing way to end the race at 3am.
2 days later I could finally sit again but it was a week and a half before I was game to sit on a saddle again! JD
