University of Iowa Leads the Nation on the Expresso Bike from Interactive Fitness, Winning the First College Interactive Cycling Challenge

Sunnyvale, California - April 15, 2013 - The University of Iowa, home of the Hawkeyes, captured the 2013 College Interactive Cycling Challenge, sponsored by Interactive Fitness, makers of the popular Expresso Bike.

According to Matthew Stancel at the University of Iowa, "I'm the Assistant Director of Fitness Programs at the University of Iowa Recreational Services Department. We currently have six Expresso Bikes at this facility (the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center). It opened a little over two years ago. I'm fairly new here; I started about a year and a half ago. We started out with three Expresso Bikes, but our member comment cards kept coming in asking us to add more, so we are now up to six.

"I've seen a huge increase in the use of the Expresso Bikes over the last few months," Stancel said. "We promote them via our social networks like Facebook and Twitter, bi-weekly newsletters emailed to our members, marketed on all digital televisions, general fitness orientation and all the attendants on the floor are trained in how to use the product. Our membership is comprised of 30,865 students, 4108 faculty and staff, and around 485 community members.

"It's a totally different biking atmosphere from a traditional, stationary bike. On the Expresso Bike you can shift gears, select routes, change grades, and record your rides. All the features are why they are being used so much more. It's so technology-forward compared to the other bikes," said Stancel.  "You save so much data, race history and more. I'm on the leader board right now for our school. Personally, I like that you can see the top riders time by track, I'm very competitive. Other bikes it's all word of mouth in regards to how far they rode or what time they did. It's a motivator for me - I can see what others are doing and race against them in real time. It's all about the competition - I want our school to be the top in anything we do. The ability to see in real-time what other schools and other riders are doing is really great for us."

In addition to the success of the University of Iowa in the College Interactive Cycling Challenge, Stancel represented the Hawkeyes during the NIRSA Interactive Cycling Challenge in Las Vegas, winning the men's title.

In February, Interactive Fitness sponsored the first-ever College Interactive Cycling Challenge, with virtual competition nationwide on the Expresso Bike.  Thousands of riders from over 70 colleges and universities rode on Expresso Bikes and competed in the College Interactive Cycling Challenge.  The University of Iowa was the winner of the College Interactive Cycling Challenge Division I National Championship with 13,485 points (total miles plus bonus points) during the month of February.  Colorado Mountain College won the College Interactive Cycling Challenge Division II National Championship with 4,636 points (total miles per bike plus bonus points).Both winning schools were awarded with a brand-new Expresso Bike - a $7,000 value.

During the month of February, in the heat of the competition in the College Interactive Cycling Challenge, there were 1,275 riders on the Expresso Bike from Interactive Fitness.  Those riders rode over 164,367 miles, burned over 5,780,154 calories, and shared 3,122 rides over Twitter and Facebook.  The average rider rode approximately 128 miles, burned approximately 4,533 calories, and shared approximately two rides over Twitter and Facebook.

For the first three months of 2013, the University of Iowa riders on the Expresso Bike have amassed a total of 28,343 points, burned 1,685,923 calories, and ridden over 36,184 miles through March 31st.

As utilized at the University of Iowa and gaining fans at dozens of colleges across the nation, the Expresso Bike from Interactive Fitness is an exciting new way to engage students and members. Well beyond a stationary bike, the Expresso Bike from Interactive Fitness is the one product that does it all.  It enables riders to experience full virtual reality, as they ride through over 40 different "worlds," ranging from a one-mile speed course to a 20-mile mountain climb.

And it replaces "cardio isolation" by keeping the riders "social" -- every Expresso Bike is connected via the Internet, enabling riders to share their rides, and compete "virtually" with riders in other locations around the country, instantly.  The Expresso Bike features state-of-the-art electronics and features designed to stimulate the mind as well as the body, and enable riders in one location to virtually race against another rider or group of riders in another location.  These "Virtual Races" are stored and remembered, tracking progress automatically as the rider becomes stronger and healthier. 

For additional information on the Expresso Bike from Interactive Fitness, visit the Interactive Fitness college website.