Bicycling Magazine's Acclaimed ''BikeTown USA'' Program Returns to Chicago for 2006; 50 Chicagoland Residents Looking to Lose Weight and Get Fit Will Receive Brand New Bikes—For Free—to Help Them Meet Their Goals

Business Wire, May 8, 2006

EMMAUS, Pa. -- Can something as simple as the gift of a bicycle change someone's life?

Very often, the answer is yes, as more than 1,300 people around the country, including Chicago, have already found out through Bicycling magazine's BikeTown USA program. And now, as BikeTown enters its fourth year in 2006, hundreds more people in Chicago and eleven other cities around the country will find out that answer for themselves.

The editors of Bicycling have once again selected Chicago, one of the first-ever BikeTown cities in 2004, as one of 12 participating markets around the country for the 2006 BikeTown USA presented by Lipton(R) program, and will give away 50 brand new Giant Cypress EX bicycles, each equipped with Shimano Nexus seven-speed hubs, to selected Chicagoland-area participants interested in seeing how incorporating a bicycle into their daily lives can help them lose weight and get on the road to better fitness.

Interested participants simply tell Bicycling, in 50 words or less, how they would use a new bicycle to help them lose weight. Bicycling's editors then select what they feel are the 50 best entries, and give each of those entrants a new bike that is theirs to keep forever.

Bicycling follows the selected participants' progress for several months for editorial purposes, and results for all BikeTown participants may be featured in the magazine and on Bicycling.com throughout the program period and following its conclusion.

BikeTown will be giving away bikes to Chicago participants on May 20 in conjunction with Bike Family Fun Day, a first year event organized by Chicago Park District as part of Mayor Daley's Bike Chicago initiative. All selected participants will receive a new Giant Cypress EX bike, and will also receive their own cycling gear, apparel and/or support from Bell Sports, Camelbak, Canari Cycling, CatEye, Ryders Sunglasses and Saris Racks.

The 2006 Chicago BikeTown program will be made possible with the cooperation and support of the City of Chicago (www.cityofchicago.org/bikechicago), the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (www.chibikefed.org) and Kozy's Cyclery (www.kozy.com, four Chicagoland retail locations).

In addition to Chicago, Bicycling's BikeTown USA markets for 2006 are:

Baltimore, MD                 Gila River (AZ) Indian Community
Boise, ID                     Houston, TX
Boston, MA                    Los Angeles, CA
Dallas, TX                    Miami, FL
Detroit, MI                   New York City
                              Philadelphia, PA

BikeTown USA is presented by Lipton(R) Tea and supported by Subaru of America and Shimano in all 12 markets.

Getting Active And Healthy

This year, Bicycling is also partnering with Lipton(R) Tea in 10 BikeTown markets, including Chicago, to promote healthier living through the Lipton(R) Live Well Challenge, a program that encourages people to start living well by becoming more active and incorporating a healthy diet that includes drinking three servings of Lipton(R) tea a day.

Lipton(R) Tea is the presenting sponsor of the Lipton(R) Live Well Challenge and BikeTown USA. BikeTown is also supported by the sponsorship of Shimano, the world's leading manufacturer of bicycle components, along with leading bicycle manufacturers Electra, Fuji and Giant, who will generously provide the bikes that will be distributed throughout the 12 cities.

"Our goal with BikeTown remains as simple as it always has been--to see how a bike can change someone's life," says Steve Madden, editor-in-chief of Bicycling. "It's the same grassroots outreach it's been since we first launched the program in Portland, Maine in 2003, only it's become more ambitious in scale.

"We're trying to see if we can affect widespread changes in people's lives throughout the country, whether they start riding for recreational purposes, to save commuting costs due to ever-rising gas prices, or as a means of taking control of their weight and fitness.

"We've seen and heard some amazing stories of lives transformed by this program in the past, and we have high hopes for even more great stories from BikeTown this time around."

"Lipton(R) Tea is proud to support BikeTown USA's commitment to helping people reach their health and nutrition goals," says Patricia Zenobi, Unilever Marketing Director. "Bike riding and drinking refreshing Lipton(R) tea are two great ways to rejuvenate and re-energize the mind, body and spirit to help people live life to the fullest."

Bicycling began the BikeTown USA program in Portland, Maine in 2003, expanding to five cities--Chicago; Irvine, CA; Racine, WI; Chatham/Madison, NJ; and the Microsoft corporate campus in Redmond, WA--in 2004. The program grew to 20 cities for the first time last year, including repeat BikeTown markets for 2006 such as New York City and Chicago.

About BikeTown USA

Many of the more than 1,300 people who've participated in BikeTown during its history initially entered the program because they were interested in losing weight. Indeed, in 2004, one-third of the 250 BikeTown participants lost noticeable weight--some more than 30 pounds over a three-month tracking period. One group of participants, five women who dubbed themselves "Biker Babes of Irvine" (led by 51-year-old Diane Shindler), actually lost more than 300 pounds combined by incorporating their bikes into their daily lives.