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BCA Newsflash

Finley crashes on Georgia's IAlpe Duez

BCA's own Byron Finley- road racer, soccer coach and mountain goat - wiped out on 55 mph descent of Hog Pen Gap near Helen, Georgia on Labor Day. Byron fell victim to Hog Pen's seven mile, 7% grade at 4,000+ feet. The momentum gained on the descent resulted in vibration and loss of control while braking into a hairpin turn. Tim Wellons, who was riding with Byron at the time, saw Byron's classic yellow Schwinn Paramount collide with a guard rail. Byron suffered three broken ribs, a gash in his head when his helmet exploded and was knocked unconscious. The Paramount suffered a bent fork which was replaced by Lee Redfern at the shop with a new carbon fiber fork. Byron is up and riding now so he can talk candidly about the mishap in retrospect.
Lee Redfern also suffered a similar crash in August on Wolf Pen Gap after hitting a rock at 45 mph. The result was a scratch and the loss of the ability to walk for a short time. Lee's new Schwinn was unscathed.
And while we're on the subject, a certain veteran rider we all know had a wreck right out of a Stephen King novel. He shall remain nameless but his initials are Michael J.
It was earlier this summer in an imaginary town in north Georgia while on a classic 'Maverick" ride. M.J. was following the flight path of an approaching hawk when he suddenly noticed a rural mailbox looming into his path. He executed a quick evasive maneuver around the post resulting in an endo in a ditch. There was minor damage to M.J.'s Waterford Paramount but blood poured from scalp and facial lacerations owing to the fact that M.J. never wears a helmet. Then to add a tale from the macabre, fire ants covered M.J's bloody body causing additional pain.
It is unknown how many stitches M.J. suffered since he wore a ball cap in the shop. I hope he forgives this reporters tale... a tale from Stephen King.
We are negotiating with Byron and Lee to conduct an 'Effective
Gap Descending' class for the club. And M.J. is still without a helmet.


Minutes of April Club Meeting
Our last official Bicycle Club of Atlanta meeting was held on April 19. In attendance was John Kelly, Andy Johnston, Lee Redfern, David Cochran, Scott Guyeff, Fran Guyett, Carter Allgood, David Sims, Steven Greenstein, Buck Peacock, Walter Stark and Tom Morris.
Topics discussed were; election of new officers (which will be up for nominations soon); treasury report (we were in good shape at that time); sponsors report (the process of obtaining new sponsors and retaining old sponsors has now begun)- jersey design- club tire and jersey orders (a similar discount will apply to current members); report on club sponsored races (an ongoing process); report on club training rides (call shop in off-season); club dues (fill out application for renewal); new web site (www.oldbike.com).