Hillsboro

This is still the hardest race of the season, but also the best.

Race stared much slower than last year, so I spent most of the first lap towards the front, the pace picked up several time and riders started to pop off the back. The first time up the hills into town and over the cobbles the group split into two. Later in the second lap it split again in the cross winds and I was able to stay with the small group. Into town I knew the race would detonate on the climbs and cobbles so I made sure I was near the front. Up the climbs the group accelerated and I crested with the top 5 or so. down into the cobbles at 40+ I was in a really good position when my rear wheel exploded. I was able to stay upright going into the turn as my rear brake locked up due to the rim expansion. The tire (Vittoria tubular) never went flat. So my day ended early, but I was safe and unhurt so all was well. Too bad though because I was on a GOOD day and was able to stay with the leaders through all the hills, wind, and constant accelerations. I was ready this year will do it again next year.

A bit about the wind which was out of the south east at 20mph with gust of 30. With over 20 turns each lap it is impossible to stay out of it. One minute its a head wind then you turn into a crosswind , the repeat over and over again..




Doug

The Hillsboro Roubaix Experience

Since Pat started the comments about the race, I will lend my overall impressions this having been my first Hillsboro Roubaix event. Here are my summary thoughts about the event for those that may be considering it in the future:

1. It's a long drive. Although it is all highway 3 and1/2 hours is still a hike. Having said that, I tend to follow the rule of "driving time should be < or = to racing time". If you ride the 66 mile race, this is pretty close. Better than driving 90 minutes for a 40 min crit.

2. It is very well organized. Check in, timing chips, parking, marshals on the course were very well done.

3. Doing a race like this early in the year is REALLY tough. Unless you have a lot of outside or computrainer miles under your belt, do not expect to be competitive. I understand the relation to the spring classics but for those of use from colder climates I wish this race was later in the year.

4. The course was great. Minimal traffic, rollers and a few stiff climbs with flat open wind areas. The cobbles are really kind of fun and are only a minor part of the course. One note, I would highly suggest keeping at least one water bottle in your jersey pocket over the cobbles. I lost my full water bottle just after getting it from the feed as I was going over the cobbles at 30mph. Had to ride the second lap on almost no water and it toasted me.

Would I do this race again? I am not sure due to the early season timing ( I am not a big indoor trainer guy) and the long drive time. It is a GREAT training event and it is one of those events I would suggest you try to do at least once in your racing career. I could not though imagine this race with crappy weather. We had a beautiful day with 60 degree temps and sun. One advantage of riding 50+ is that you can usually wait to see the weather for the event and still get in. For 4s and 5s it is a bit of a crapshoot with the weather as you have to register early.

We had a good Tower turnout, with 3 of us in the 50+ and 5 in the 40+. I will leave it up to individual folks to post their comments on the race.

Dr Phil

Hillsboro Roubaix

Hi Everyone-
What a tuff race, I made the mistake of sitting at the front for most of the first lap. This is something BRB has said to me and many others time and time again not to do. I felt great like King Kong, at one point in the first lap I thought of taking a flyer myself. After the first lap I deiced to go back in the middle of the pack were I stayed until mile 35 that’s when I saw him "The Man with the Hammer” I peddled as hard as I could and got away from him. As the pelaton came over a big hill at mile 41 “The Man with the Hammer” jumped out and hit me over the back of the neck and the light went out.

Congrats

It was the nicest thing to see the race unfold with blue and green all over. Doug’s efforts in his small break were remarkable and the bridge accomplished by Pat was brilliant. The taming of the pace by the rest of the team while other courageous attempts to bridge were made is undeniable proof that Tower operates as a proactive team. I have never seen so many happy faces after a race; not as happy for their own performance as for having carried out together a team plan that worked to perfection!

Pascale

Burnham Criterium | Tower Power

Tower did awesome in its season opener! Taking 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 10th place.

Sundays ride to Oswego

Hi Everyone-

This Sunday I plan on leaving from the Tower at 7:00 a.m. sharp. I’m riding out to the fire station in Oswego (round trip 60 to 70 miles) at an easy pace (17 to 22 mph but could go faster or slower).

This will be the same format as last Sunday. If you can come, you are welcome to sit in as much as you would like. The fire station in Oswego is always open and happy to fill water bottles or use the bathroom; however I would suggest bringing three bottles with you, along with food to eat.

This is a “no drop ride” and everyone will wait if someone falls behind or breaks down.

Pat D.

Sunday's Ride

Hi Everyone-

Great ride yesterday! Rarely do we have the opportunity to do this ride with a bigger Tower Group and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. From those that I spoke with over the weekend, everyone seemed to enjoy the longer/easier tempo and I hope we can do more of these throughout the year (perhaps once a month?). Thanks to everyone who came out.

As well, I’d also like to thank Rick J. and the Sram folks for their attendance and pulls at the front. Considering their strong fitness levels, they set a perfect tempo for the group and we were happy they could join us! Hope to see them out with us more during the year.

Last, it was nice to see many of the new Tower members. We hope that you will continue to come out with the group and with consistent attendance, you will find your fitness and bike handling will continue to improve. And for those new members who may be uncertain what to do in a particular situation or need help, just ask someone in the group as everyone is happy to help.
Hope to see everyone again soon!

Pat D.

Sunday's Ride to Naperville

Hi Everyone-

Due to an overwhelming response to Sundays ride out to Naperville many of you asked me to change the time to one hour earlier due to family and other commitments.

In short:

This Sunday we will leave from the tower at 8:00 a.m. sharp. We will ride out to the fire station in Naperville (round trip 60 to 70 miles) at an easy pace (17 to 22 mph but could go faster or slower). You do not have to take a pull if you are not up to it yet, you are welcome to sit in as much as you would like. The fire station in Naperville is always open and happy to fill water bottles; however I would suggest bringing three bottles with you along with food to eat. This is a “no drop ride” and everyone will wait if someone falls behind or breaks down.

Please remember to bring the following:

1) tool bag
2) tube
3) co2 cartridge
4) extra water bottle
5) food
6) BRB (Bob Berg)
7) Any extra clothing

Personally, long easy rides on Sunday’s are something I am going to do a lot more of. If you have any questions contact me.

PD.

Burnham Racing -- March 28th

Gang,

The first crit of the year is nearly full. They added a men’s 4/5 race that begins at 8:15. Limit of 50 riders. So far 24 have signed up.

If we plan to do this race, the first 4/5 race would be the only race that we can all enter. The only good news is that we would be able to be home earlier as other races would be in the middle of the day. The bad news is that we would only get to do one race…

I know many of you dislike crits, but this IS the safest crit on the schedule all year and I would highly recommend this race (recall it is a motorcycle track – smooth, with wide turns and no curbs). Further if we can do this as a team, we could take strong command of the race itself and dominate.

I just signed up, who else is in?!?!?

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=7559

Jim Hamman

8th Annual Hillsboro-Roubaix Road Race

Older gents,

Plenty of spots are still open for the 40+ and 50+ races. So far Pat, Mark M, and myself are in the 40+, Brain M is the only 50+ Tower racer. This race is definitely worth the drive.

Doug

Ride on Friday 2-13-09

It looks like the weather will be decent for an AM ride tomorrow. Hope to see someone there. So far Fran, myself, and Bob are in.

Saturday ride

Thinking of a very easy 2.5-3hr ride Saturday morining. Will probably head west, no bluff.This will NOT be a hammer fest.

Doug

Computrainer Class | Endure - It

Hi Guys,

I went to the Computrainer meeting last night at Endure – It. The meeting was informative and well run, David Fix (owner of Endure – It) has added 6 additional trainers (for a total of 14 trainers) to handle the built up demand, and I would guess there were 60+ in attendance. David has also added a plyometric class after each Computrainer class (this class is optional) on Saturdays only. Plyometrics from my understanding is the conditioning of your lower back, abdominal mussels, shoulders and stretching exercises.

I personally feel with the number of people in attendance and excitement I felt last night the classes will fill quickly. David told me you can sign up weeks in advance if you’d like, however, you will be charged if you don’t show or if you cancel with less then 48 hour notice.

Chris Mosora will be coaching all Saturday classes. Chris is a Cat 1/2 racer and has ridden with the Tower group a couple of occasions this past summer. A number of us from Tower worked with Chris last winter, speaking for myself Chris taught me a lot about training and racing.

I think Endure – It is an excellent run bike shop and I will be attending all winter. Furthermore, the Plyometrics classes are something I need and I’m sure most of you could use conditioning in the areas I mentioned above. If you need any further information on this subject please feel free to contact me.

Please forward to anyone I my have missed….

~Style King~

Tony Cacchillo (AKA) Fabian

This is Fabian winning a race after Team Tower did some incredible blocking strategies.

Blocking Strategy

Found and excellent article about blocking strategy which I think everyone should read. It goes into detail of the strategy and some may be surprised how subtel it really is.


http://www.velonews.com/article/84731/the-explainer---why-not-block

Tower Makes the Podium

Today, Tower hit the podium in a big way as the road/crit season comes to a close. Lori and Pascal both win their respective races with some assistance from Pascal, Lori was able to break away early and stay away.

We had Gary, Tom, Mark, Terry, Don, Charlie (who ran the 50+ earlier), me, and even Lori signed up for the Mens (?) Cat 4. Two Tati women signup up as well.

I go through my typical pre-race 2nd guessing. Did I eat too much this morning? Drink one too many beers last night? Ride too hard yesterday? Did I hydrate enough? At this point, none of it matters, its time to race the last crit of 2008. We line up near each other and hit the start. I follow Tom up the inside to get near the front and try to keep it that way. Somewhere around lap 4/5, they call a prime for sunglasses - I could use sunglasses. If I have a shot, I’m going for it. After turn three, I am in 5th. I see a familiar Tati uniform (it’s that same guy who drove off the front last week) 20 yards off the front. He does not seem to be sprinting just motoring at a high pace. I’m going to try and catch him. No one else challenges except for one, who quickly gives in. Tati looks back and starts to accelerate. I gun it as if the race depended on it. Fly pass Tati after turn 4 and keep going. After a look back to see if the glasses are in jeopardy, I ease up at the line. Hearing Tower Racing takes the prime brings a smile to my face. Tati keeps going. He’s going to do it again. Damn that kid is strong. I wonder if I should follow as we have a good gap at this point. I decide it would be too much effort. I need to work on riding hard while winded (next year.)

I drift to the back and get a great vantage point of my teammates up ahead. Go Tower!
As it turns out that Tati Guy laps us with three to go. I see Tom follow Tati as he drives through the pack a lap up on everyone (impressive). I follow Tati the last lap and a half in 2nd place. Get into a minor scrape when a WDT rider attempts to crowd me out of 2nd place. I’m not moving. He’ll have to move up or drop back. He actually bumps me this time, I push back, fortunately, he backs off this time and drifts back. I don’t like it when this kind of stuff happens. He apologizes later after I call him out.

I decide to leave even earlier than the prime. I take off just after turn 3. I round turn four in 1st. I am doing everything to hold off the pursuits behind, but begin to fade. I get passed by one rider with 25 yards to go and barely hold on for 2nd in the field sprint - 3rd overall. End result: Raced over 26 mph average; Tower is on the podium; I have a pair of sunglasses; $30 goes to Tower Racing Charities (which U.S. Cellular® will match).

It’s a good day for Tower. In fact, it’s been a good year. We started a race team; we have excellent uniforms; we’ve donated to charity; hosted our first race; won some races; placed in many more and people are recognizing us as an up and coming team. We are much stronger as a group than we were last year. I look forward to our future hammer sessions.

- Ed E.

Going for a ride 10/03 Friday

If anyone would care to join me for a ride on 10/03 at 10:00 a.m. get back to me.

I plan on riding N. Frontage to Woodward turning back and going up S. Frontage to Cass then to Madison back into Hinsdale.

Please let me know if you can go.

Style King~

Fall Fling Road Race Sept 27th

What a great day we had on Saturday at the ABR fall fling road race. The weather was perfect. We didn’t have any huge result, just had a lot of fun. There were 10 of us total. Tom M., Tony C., Jimmy H., Don H., Charlie T., Kevin M., Mark M, & Pat D. Bob B. and Dr. Phil raced in the 50s, with the other in the Cat 4 race. Both races were 40 miles long. The course is a rolling course with no significant climbs.

Our plan was to sit in for the first couple of laps, and then soften up the pack with a couple of attacks and then see if Jimmie could get away. We did all of that, and were by far the most active team. It didn’t work out but we had a blast trying to make it happen. It was fun laying out a plan and executing those plans, even if they didn’t turn out the way we wanted (podium).

On the last lap leading up the hill it was pretty much all together. Or at least there was no breakaway. I am sure there was some carnage off the back, but it was still a very large group intact. This made it a challenge to get into position for the sprint. The centerline rule was being enforced (Mark M. got thrown out) and several riders were pulled. We had a nice lead out set up with me as the designated sprinter. We attacked a bit too soon and when it was my turn to go, we were to far out for me to crank it up. I waited for some wheels and followed several attacks, but didn’t have enough to finish strong. I have never been in a better position to win a race. Thanks to my team mates for setting me up.

A high finish would have made it a huge success, but I think we learned a lot and will be better for it next time. Everyone worked as a team with a well executed plan. We even barbequed in the parking lot which was a great way to talk through what went well and what did not. What a great season we have had, everyone should be very proud of how we did as a team. We had some great results and great experiences that should hold us through till next year. Better train hard, because we have a lot to live up to after the success we had in our first year.

I think I probably finished 30th and Tom and Jim somewhere between 15th and 25th but I am not sure. Everyone else were very close to my result. Charlie Tallard had a great race finishing his first ever cat 4 (non age group) race. He may have finishied ahead of me? Pat, Mark, and Tony had several impressive attacks which I started to describe in detail and it started to look like a small novel. Try and follow Pat when he attacks, I was actually trying to tell him to slow down, but he didn’t hear me. By the way Bob got 5th in his race if you didn’t see his e-mail, Phil hung tough finishing strong in the field.

One more race next week and unless you race cross, we are done. Nice job everyone!!!!

Fall Fling - Tower is on the podium

Tower makes the podium.
Case Hultman and I signed up for the Fall Fling Beginner Men Crit on Sunday morning. It is a very short race - 10 laps. But, I am desperate to get a race in as I could not make the road race yesterday. The Wood Dale south course was relatively safe and most importantly no crashes. It had a couple dips and rises that made it more interesting. The race started out very quick with many surges. It settles down after lap 2. I find out later that, unfortunately, Case got gapped out of the gate when he could not get in his pedal at the line at the start during the hammer fest of the first two laps.

A Tati riders pulls to the front on the inside launching a teammate. This is where it’s nice to have teammates along for the ride. (Anyone up for next week for either the 4s or 40+?) I was about 6 or 7 back when I saw this happen. No one jumped. I considered it, but hey, its only one guy on lap 2, we’ll see him again. Even his coaches on the sidelines are saying “Not Yet.” I stay near the front following the teachings of BRB. A couple more attempts to jump, only to get eaten up within a lap. On lap 8 I am getting excited, I see a Tati uniform up ahead; we are back into a race for 1st place. We swallow up the Tati rider. Throughout the race, I see some team tactics at work from a couple of Teams. I do my best to bypass the blockers and stay up front. The effort pays off; I am riding 3rd on the final lap. After turn 2, I am riding 2nd. Before the race, I had planned on hitting it on turn 4. However during the race, I think back to the Chicago crit. – go earlier. I hit it shortly after turn 3 into the wind. As soon as I gun it, I see a line of 4 blue jerseys to my right who were in the process of passing on the outside. The first blue pulls off, I am about even with the rear wheel of the new leader now and gaining. I am feeling fresh and there is no way I am losing to this guy. I round turn 4 and give it everything and sprint the final 250m to the finish line thinking I have to keep this up just a little while longer. I pull away for a 2 length win. I did it. I won my first race. I give Case an update after the race – Tower wins. Pasquale asks how I did, I coolly mention that I won.

I wait for the results only to see a 2nd by my name. Oops! That’s not good, Turns out the Tati jersey we passed on lap 8 was a dropped teammate of the winner who had successfully held us off to the end. Kudos to the winner, he TT’d 80% if the race. My biggest regret is not finding Pasquale in time to correct my blunder. Oh well – I won the field sprint anyway. 2nd is not so bad.

P.S. Case and I had commitments and cound not stay for Pasquale's race. I am sure she did well.


-Ed

Illinois Standings

Both Doug Braun and Laurie Stork placed high in the Illinois Cup Standings. Check out the web-site at the attached link. Laurie was fourth overall in the cat 4s and Doug is 6th in the 40 + 4/5. Maybe next year we target all of the races in this series as a team to help guide us to what races are important.

Congratulations Team Tower!!!!!



http://www.illinoiscycling.org/standings/2008CupTop10.pdf