November 16, 2004 – Congratulaions Dizzy Chicks for a fantastic womens’ cycling workshop on Sunday November 7. Here some highlights:

Stay on Track: A Holistic Approach to the Science of Cycling brought together professionals from across the sports science field, who presented a wealth of performance-enhancing information to the 40+ women in attendance at Vancouver’s Langara College.

The afternoon kicked off with registered physiotherapist Shaana Saski’s lecture on the benefits of performing a functional athlete assessment, allowing riders to identify anatomical strengths and weaknesses and to develop a conditioning program to suit.

Next up, Carmen Bott presented on the physiology of the female athlete and the effects of the menstrual cycle on training (apparently there’s no excuse!), followed by Sport Dietitian Dallas Parson’s advice on eating (and drinking) for cycling. One Chick was quite disappointed to learn that beer is not on the “recommended fluids” list.

Anne Muscat psyched up the group with some mental training advice and strategies for performance boosting self-talk. Bruce Merit from Polar demonstrated the ins and outs of using a heart rate monitor and Judy Latoski unleashed the power of an efficient pedal stroke through proper bike fit and technique.

The afternoon finished with an inspirational presentation from blind Paralympic tandem cyclist Shawn Marsolais who gave an insight into her experiences at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.

There were prizes-a-plenty throughout the workshop, and the depth of information presented in the space of 4 hours was astounding. Everyone walked away with a fresh outlook on how to improve their cycling, and some extra motivation for getting on their bike this winter!

The Dizzy Chicks would like to thank conference sponsors: Dizzy Cycles, Polar, Lululemon Athletica, LadySport, City Sports and Physiotherapy Clinics, Canadian Springs, Purdy’s Chocolates,Spoke’n Performance Coaching Solutions, The Stick & Cycling BC.

For more information about the Dizzy Chicks, visit their website at www.dizzychicks.com.