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JohnFindleyHorseshoe
John Findley - SCC on the Podium at Fibrax Wrexham Road Club Open Hill Climb 2/10/11Click on the images to enlarge. "Flash" is needed to view the video - Check the top of your browser window to allow the video to run or click on the picture/icon to restart. CTT Hill Climb Course DHC/1, otherwise known as the Horseshoe Pass, near Llangollen, is 2 miles 585 yards (c 3.8 km) long with about 800 feet (245 m) height gain to the finish at about 1300 feet (400 m) above sea level. Maximum signposted gradient is 20% (1:5) although we reckon it’s not quite that steep. Past Course Record Holders include Chris Boardman with 9min 7 sec and the current Holder is James Dobbin with 9min 3 sec. A certain Jim Henderson won in 2005 with a 9min 21sec. All are, of course, former National Hill Climb Champions but only one has ridden for SCC! John was 87th on the Start Sheet of 90 entrants with Mr. Dobbin last to go. No pressure, as they say. But as our Team bus rolled into the car park at HQ (nicely located at the Ponderosa café – excellent food efficiently served) there were some worries ….. A dodgy bottom bracket for starters. This was found to have seized almost solid the day before, too late to organise a fix (they don’t do FSA BB30’s in wildest mid-Wales, which Things had not improved when John returned, reporting no “top end” power in his legs. It wasn’t looking good and neither was he. The prospects of a decent time, needed to support his planned entry to the National Championship in Derbyshire later this month, were looking slim. Team Management began eyeing the few hundred Harleys surrounding the Team Bus but reckoned the Timekeepers would notice a swap and besides the owners were Large. The gloom deepened as John headed off down the Pass to the start. Would the BB30 hold out? Would John stay on the bike? Would he even start? Would the untried Spesh shoelace installation take the strain or quick-release his foot on the steepest bit? Would Team Findley have to repeat the whole logistical tussle of getting J up from Uni again to try for a time in another event somewhere even further away from Aberystwyth, perhaps over the border in merrie England, like the one scaling Lancashire’s very own Nick o’ Pendle?
Against all these odds the ride somehow went well. John had commented how good it felt pulling on his Southport CC colours and they must have inspired him and kept the bottom bracket bug at bay because he finished third. He was actually second amateur rider as the Winner was Richard Handley of Team Raleigh – two Raleigh bikes on the podium then! From the jaws of defeat not quite victory but most definitely a Result.
Click here to see the official finish list Only one other rider managed to clear 10 minutes. The course Record Holder did not start. John’s already submitted his entry for the National Championship; he’s been sent back to Uni with loads of Vitamin C and the bike’s going to get a new BB so watch this space. And Bill L, if you’re reading this, your forecast of a top 3 placing in this one was obviously right! Lottery Number suggestions welcome. Arthur Findley Posted 08/10/2011
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was where we were at the time), and was only with difficulty coaxed into a grumbly rotation – moral, don’t race a Tameside crit in the monsoon season, wash/lube the bike and then put it away for a week or two. And, turning to our rider, how about a helping of “Fresher’s Flu” for mains? Complete with elevated pulse, thick head and streaming nose this came courtesy of Aberystwyth University. Season with a general feeling of being, and I quote, “crap” and we had a not exactly encouraging mix as John hauled himself out of the car park to disappear into the windy gloom for a 30 minute warm up. His campsite shower the day before under water which quickly ran cold probably hadn’t helped. Then there was the small matter of having to replace a frayed Specialised “Boa” shoe lace (actually a wire), a fiendishly fiddly operation which had taken ages to complete the night before meaning the fastening had not actually been tried under load. On the plus side his race wheels were fresh from a check by wheelmeister Paul Hewitt which included helpful tweaking of spoke tensions in the all important rear wheel and were definitely A1 as was the bike generally, other than the treacherous BB. 
For the record;