Harry H Hill and the R.R.A. '50' - November 1938
In 1938 Sheffield Phoenix
C.C. member and John Bull professional Harry
H Hill broke the Road Record Association's 50-mile record. The
route used for the attempt was the old R.R.A. of Scotland course
from Salsburgh near Kirk O' Shotts to North Berwick. Two attempts
were made,initially on Tuesday 1st November 1938, and finally the
record breaking attempt the following Friday the 4th. Harry who had
rode to Olympic Bronze in the team pursuit at Berlin in 1936 beat
the previous best time of Frank Southall from 1934 of 1h 42m 29s
by 2m 1s.
Harry Hills record lasted only for that winter as in the following
year Harry 'Shake' Earnshaw a Yorkshireman from Monckton C.C. beat
the record on Sunday 16th April 1939 setting a a time of 1h 39m 42s
an improvement of 4m 38s on Hill on a 50-mile course starting slightly
further East at Bathgate.
Whilst Earnshaw rode a derailleur equipped machine, Harry Hill road his
Royal Enfield 'Continental' with a single fixed geared to 92" (48
at the front and a 14 sprocket on the rear.
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ROAD RACING The first Open Event for Unpaced road racing in Scotland dates back to 26th June 1909 when the first 50-mile road race was organised by the H.S.Bilbe, Editor of the "Scottish Cyclist". From this event emerged the Road Records Association of Scotland to draw up a series of standard times and official courses for what would be "Road Records". 'Road Racing' did not refer as it does nowadays to massed-start races pitching riders and teams against each other. They are more akin to Time Trials in that they are ridden against the clock. They do however differ in that they are scheduled record attempts notified in advance and are set up to run over fixed routes and in favourable conditions (wind at your back) and over favourable routes (preferably flat!) and with official observers for verification. In the early years Scottish riders had been particularly slow against their counterparts in the South of the country - perhaps because the RRA in England had been formed over 21 years earlier than in Scotland, however Glasgow Wheelers C.C. member Val del Vecchio was the first in Britain to record a 50-mile time below 2 hours, achieving 1hr 55m 14s on the 7th October 1928. The current National '50' record stands at 1hr 24 32s set by Ian Cammish in 1991. (Can anyone verify that this is the last time it was broken)? |
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