Update: March 31, 2005 5 p.m. Online registration has closed. While the Bike Show doesn't officially open on Saturday until 10 a.m., we will be selling tickets to the show that morning starting at 9 a.m. If you are running the Shamrock Shuffle, you can bring your bib number to get a ticket. If you know what 2 session you want to attend, it will be helpful to know in advance. You can reserve your spot for these at the Will Call booth or either of the Chicago Athlete booths (Shamrock Shuffle expo #610 and Bike Show #613 & 712) or if you can email brenda@chicagoaa.com.

CHICAGO, IL -The 1st Annual Women's Cycling Symposium will be held in conjunction with the Chicago Bike Show and Family Fitness Expo on Saturday, April 2 at Navy Pier from 9:30-11:45 a.m.

Keynote speaker for this event is nationally renown sports nutritionist and author, Monique Ryan who will deliver the keynote speech, "The Top 5 Nutrition Strategies for Women Cyclists." Ryan is the author of "Performance Nutrition for Team Sports" (VeloPress 2005), "Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition" and "Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes," and has written extensively for publications such as VeloNews and Inside Triathlon. She is the founder of Chicago-based Personal Nutrition Designs.

In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to attend two breakout sessions on these topics: Racing 101, Training, Bike Mechanics for Chicks, Products Specific for Women, Cycling Leg of the Triathlon and You're Never Too Old to Bike.

"We are proud to support and help promote cycling for women, " said Eliot Wineberg, director of the Chicago Bike Show. "The speakers--all women--are experts in their topics and will provide an exciting forum for women interested in cycling."

The Symposium will begin with Ryan's address to the entire group and then attendees can choose to attend two of the six 45-minutes sessions.

The Women's Cycling Symposium is free with entry to the Bike Show. Tickets to the show cost $9 and can be purchased in advance online at www.chicagobikeshow.com or in person at Navy Pier, Hall A, Room 313. Space is limited so attendees are encourage to register online. For more information on this event, contact Brenda Barrera at 847-675-0200 x208 or brenda@chicagoaa.com

The Chicago Bike Show and Family Fitness Expo is produced by Chicago Sports Media, publishers of Chicago Athlete Magazine. Show hours are 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 1; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 2; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 3. For more information, call the show hotline at 847-675-0200 x 250, or visit www.Chicagobikeshow.com.

BREAK OUT TOPICS / SPEAKERS
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Monique Ryan, MS, RD, LDN
Monique is a nationally recognized sports nutritionist with over 20 years of experience. She is the author of "Performance Nutrition for Team Sports" (VeloPress, 2005), "Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition," and "Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes," also from VeloPress. She is a regular columnist for Inside Triathlon and VeloNews magazines, and is founder of Personal Nutrition Designs, a nutrition consulting company based in Evanston. Ryan regularly counsels athlete across North America on performance and health-related nutrition concerns and offers services through her Web site at www.moniqueryan.com. She is the nutritionist for the Performance Enhancement Teams, USA Triathlon and the T-Mobile Women's Cycling Team leading to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Monique has also consulted with many professional triathletes, the Volvo-Cannondale Mountain Bike Team, Rollerblade Racing, and the Trek-Volkswagen and Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Teams. In addition, Monique has competed in the sports of road cycling and mountain biking.

RACING 101: Sarah Tillotson
Sarah discovered racing in 2001 with the help of XXX Racing after a year of bike messengering in Chicago and hasn't looked back. She has been competing on the national level since 2002 under the coaching of Mike Farrell and with the support of the ABD Cycling Club. Her career highlights include wins at Superweek, Arlington Heights, Four Bridges of Elgin, and she has Illinois State Championship titles in both criterium and cyclocross racing. She has earned top 10 finishes at NRC events such as the McLane Pacific, Joe Martin and San Dimas Stage Races.

TRAINING: Francine Haas
Francine is a coach for Vision Quest Coaching Services and an accomplished cyclist in both triathlon and cycling disciplines. She began her cycling career in 1983 as a triathlete and turned her focus to cycling in 1999. Her recent titles include 2003 Illinois State Road Race Champion and 2004 Chicagoland Cyclo-Cross Cup Series Champion. In addition she has earned multiple Illinois State Track Championship Titles and is the record holder in the Great Floridian Ironman distance race in the Athena category. Francine hosts a weekly women's group ride and has put on several clinics to encourage women to be more comfortable in the arena of competitive cycling.

BIKE MECHANICS FOR CHICKS: Cynthia Pike-Biegunski,
Cynthia works as a mechanic/salesperson at Bicycles Etc. in the western suburbs. This will be her third year wrenching at Bicycles Etc. and her sixth year racing road bikes. She is also a featured columnist on the bicycle racing website Truesport.com and has her own cycling Web site: cyclingcindy.org.

PRODUCTS SPECIFIC FOR WOMEN: Jenni Schwai
Jenni is the Women's Specific Design product manager for Trek Bicycles. She raced on the UC-Berkeley Cycling team during graduate school and is currently training for Ironman Wisconsin. She has five years of consumer marketing experience and has worked in brand management at PowerBar and Intuit.

CYCLING LEG OF THE TRIATHLON: Tina McDonie
Tina has coached athletes of all levels for more than 20 years. She is the founder of T&M TriSport Company and is a coach with Vision Quest Coaching Services. In 2003, she placed second in her age group at the 2003 Ironman World Championship and was ranked #1 in her age group by USA Triathlon.

YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO BIKE: Pat Beam and Kathy Corbett
Pat, 68, is a longtime bicycle enthusiast. Along with racing in the Senior Olympics at regional, state and national competitions, she has participated in American Bicycle Racing (ABR) and in 2004 took first place in the Masters Time Trial Series, Tour of Illinois and Wisconsin Road Race and Criterium, and was the Illinois and Wisconsin Rider of the Year for women age 60+. Her most recent honor was the 2004 Dick Green Bicycling Athlete Award, presented by the Blackhawk Bicycle and Ski Club, for best bike handling skills and overall athlete fitness.

Kathy, 55, has been a member of the Midwest Masters Cycling Team since 1999 and her titles include ABR Road Race and Criterium National Champion from 1999 to 2004. She was also a member of the World Champion Four-Person Team Time Trial and the Illinois State Road Race Champion. Kathy was named Tour of Illinois and Wisconsin Rider of the year from 1999 to 2002. Prior to racing she did bicycle touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, and has participated in many organized century rides. Currently she is the cycling coach for a group of women who are training for triathlons.

Networking Area
A table will be set up with literature and displays provided by different clubs and bike related companies for participants to browse. Sign-ups for group emails and group ride information will be available.