TOWER COACHING
Personal Training for Cyclists
Janice Tower, USA Cycling Certified Level 1 Coach
Personal training for cyclists, specializing in road racing, mountain biking, ultra-distance, and personal fitness.
I began bike racing when most competitive cyclists would be thinking about retiring. Cycling is the latest of several athletic passions that I've enjoyed in life. As a junior I was a nationally ranked alpine racer until a string of knee injuries forced me to hang up my skis. Not to be sidelined from sports, I took up whitewater kayaking, marathon canoe racing, telemarking, windsurfing, and cycling.
I was introduced to crosscountry mountain bike racing at the local Tuesday night series. It didn't take me long to figure out that my strength was endurance and that 24-hour racing would provide challenges I craved. I sampled a variety of mountain bike stage races--the Absalon Cape-Epic in South Africa, the Trans-Rockies in Canada, La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica, and the Trans-Alps in Europe. On my home turf I pursued Alaskan winter mountain bike adventures such as the Susitna 100, the Iditasport and the 350-mile trans-Alaska Iditarod Trail Invitational.
As much as I enjoy mountain biking I also love the road. In 2003 my husband and I completed the 1200km Paris-Brest-Paris and I became the womens record holder in Alaska's Fireweed 400 (a RAAM qualifier), a record that stood for nine years.
One of my most satisfying accomplishments was to create Mighty Bikes, a mountain biking program for kids. We started the program with 10 kids in the year 2000 and by 2020 we registered 300! Equally rewarding is training juniors for road racing on the local and national levels. The Kaladi-Subway Junior Racing Team has taken home medals from the Sea Otter Classic and the Junior National Championsips.
I consider everyone that I coach to be an athlete, whether that person is a CAT I road racer, a sprint triathlon champion, a junior mountain biker or a cyclist riding a first century.
I try to develop my athletes' physical potential while encouraging a high level of personal enjoyment of the sport. Regardless of goals or ability level, we are driven by a desire to improve ourselves and achieve things we never thought possible. If I can be an agent to encourage my athletes to adopt cycling as a lifetime passion, then I’ve achieved my mission as a coach.
TEAMS: Backcountry Racing, Kaladi Subway Junior Development (Director, Head Coach), Mighty Bikes (Director)
SUPPORTERS: RTR Bicycles, Speedway Cycles, Backcountry Bike and Ski
Fun Things I've Done on a Bike:
Dirty Kanza 200 (2018, 2019)
Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder Stage Race (2019)
Kenai 250 (2016, 2017, 2018, 2020)
24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Solo (2012, 2013)
24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Duo (2018)
Iditarod Trail Invitational 350 (2002, 2003, 2011, 2019, 2020, 2022)
Fireweed 400 Solo (2003, 2009, 2014)
Fireweed 200 (2004-2007, 2018)
Fireweed 200 Tandem (2011, 2012, 2016)
Soggy Bottom 100 (2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
TransAlps Challenge (2010)
Arrowhead 135 (2010)
White Mountains 100 (2010-2013)
El Tour de Tucson (2006-2007)
La Ruta de los Conquistadores (2006)
Susitna 100/Iditasport (2000, 2001)
Susitna 100 (2004-2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017, 2020)
TransRockies Challenge (2005)
The Cape Epic (2005)
24 Hours of Kincaid Solo (2002, 2004)
12 Hours of Mat-Su (2011)
Paris-Brest-Paris (2003)
World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin Championships (2001, 2002)
24 Hours of Moab (2000)