Love Valley was the second stop of the Trois Roubaix series of gravel/dirt road races occurring this month. Where the first stop, Tom Dula's Revenge, was run in mild, short-sleeve jersey weather at the beginning of March, Love Valley was a 44 degree, rain soaked test of will and character that had an over 40% DNF rate with all but a chosen few being satisfied with merely finishing the damn thing, climbing off of their bike at the Silver Spur and parking their drenched, shivering butt by the wood fired stove and contemplating their sanity as the steam billowed off of their clothes.
The sky was a uniform gray color as we sat on the line. As the announcement of three minutes to go until the start rang out, a rider beside me said, "Did you feel that?". You could hear isolated raindrops hitting riders, bikes and the ground. Almost everyone, myself included, reached into their back pocket, pulled out a rain jacket, and in one swift motion we became a peloton of rain jacketed hard men and women steeling ourselves for the task at hand.
I would like to say that I acquitted myself with panache, but this race quickly became about one clear goal for me: finishing. Despite full coverage fenders, rain jacket, water-resistant shoe covers, surgical gloves under long finger gloves and various warm bits of clothing, the near constant drizzle and temperatures in the low 40's quickly added up to a wet and numb body and the race became all mental for a lot of the participants. A 40% DNF rate for the race shows the difficulty of the course and conditions. Perhaps the smartest rider of the day was the gentleman who turned off at the first intersection in the first kilometer and called it a day.
A huge debt of gratitude goes to Grava for providing us with the frameset that is dominating these gravel races here in NC. The Maple Sally carbon frame is proving to be a formidable and agile weapon for drop bar racing. Once again, our team issue Lazer Genesis helmets with AeroShell cover is proving a godsend in these early season weather conditions.
Fiets Maan Racing Team member +Charles Bennett finished a very strong 10th place in the Men's 30-39 category and now sits in 6th place overall for the Trois Roubaix series. I, +Shawn Moore , finished a cold and sodden 15th in the Men's 40-49 category and now sit in 7th place overall for the Trois Roubaix series. Fiets Maan Racing club member +David Clark finished a very strong 4th place in the Men's 40-49 category and now sits 5th overall in the Trois Roubaix series, while club members +Greg Kiziah and +Dennis Lockhart finished 5th and 8th, and now sit in 4th and 5th place, respectively, in the Men's 50-59 category.
Results aside, huge respect and appreciation goes to Fiets Maan Racing Team member +Zachary Arensman who gave his bike to Women's race and series leader Hannah Arensman after a mishap broke the rear derailleur and derailleur hanger on her bike. Zach's sacrifice for his sister saved her race and her series lead. Chapeau, Zach! That is exactly the kind of riding we like to see from our team members.
See you Sunday at Boone Roubaix!
If you missed out on Tom Dula's Revenge, check out this video from Jayson O'Mahoney:
