Well, our Milwaukee Bureau Chief tracked down Erich Tillman and put me in touch.
Here's what Erich had to say about his racing career and this frameset:
My first Raleigh was purchased from Kevin Brown, who was a Raleigh rep, in 1984. I was an avid cross country ski racer and very interested in bike racing. My friend Lance Ohlsson and I started racing in the spring of 1985 and competed in about 35 races moving up from cat 4 to cat 2 by august of 85. Some time during the first season my seat stay broke near the top of my seat tube. The bike was returned to Raleigh and was replaced with a 1984 Olympic us team Raleigh 753. It was red white and blue. The main tubes being red , a blue fork and seat stays , with white stars on the fork and stays. My second and final year of racing consisted of about 75 races starting in January of 1986 and ending in august of 1986. Lance and I moved to Arizona in January to prepare for a month stay at the Olympic training center in Colorado springs. After that we stated racing in southern California and worked our way back to the mid- west during the season. The second frame broke at the brake bridge at a race in Texas. It was replaced with the frame you have now. The team Raleigh you have was probably ridden in my last 25 races.
Knowing a bikes history is awesome
3 comments:
I worked with Erich at a bike shop in Milwaukee shortly before he left for Arizona. I helped train him in his early races. (I told him to pedal faster). I remember when he got his first Raleigh bike. I was driving a Moped to work one day and he caught me and passed me going up a hill. He was a very strong rider.
thanks for sharing the story!
The original joke went like this: "Erich is really fast, great sprinter, climber, stage racer...wow really fast, in fact every time I look back there he is right behind me". I thought it was really funny, then 20 years went by and I had a epiphany...I'm still using the same mantra even after 20 years R.E.L.E.I.G.H., used now, like I used it than, when my lungs are burning and legs are fried. This mantra started when I was reading the letters off a certain 753 frame not but a couple of inches in "front" of me. Hey, guess I was pretty fast, I was right behind Erich....Great memories and endless miles....Thanks Erich! (hey Tony, your advice was great by the way, Thanks) Lance
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