Forget going to the gym to save the environment. If you’ve got the equipment, why not put it to good use by modding an exercise bike to chill and heat stuff simultaneously for your own benefit? This guy did it and now look at him, he’s shredding pounds and chilling beers.

That’s right, the integrated pair of copper wires that are connected to the whole pedal assembly can both chill or heat a refreshing beverage. In the morning, both coffee and beer are a great refreshment during routine exercise. So why not drink both simultaneously? It’d be like drinking Sparks without that Robitussin taste in your mouth.

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David Butcher is one cool dude. Every day, he exercises for 45-minutes on a pedal-powered generator that powers his laptop computer, a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner and compact fluorescents. However, he’s not the only one making use of this eco-friendly approach to powering electronic equipment.

A new gym in Portland, Oregon utilizes a similar approach to building up energy.  Personal trainer Adam Boesel opened the Green Microgym not solely to provide members with an excellent workout but also to save some energy.

“It is an example of what a community can do to conserve energy, even if it’s a drop in the bucket.”

If only more people shared a similar outlook on our energy crisis.

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Since the 1970s, every serious rock and roll guitarist has used Ibanez’s Tube Screamer distortion pedal. I’ve played with an original vintage pedal and some of the later models that use digital processing and let me tell you: the original still remains king. The tone is so perfect for a humbucker and a Marshall that it’s truly scary.

Unfortunately, the remaining pedals from the ’70s don’t come cheap. Luckily, you can make your own through the magic of the Internet and Instructables. You’ll have to do some PCB etching, but don’t let that turn you off. Keep in mind that because this is DIY, there are no rules about having a pedal that goes past 11.

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What a sweet ride! The Rasmus Gjesing ATB Tourist bicycle is the work of, you guessed it: Rasmus Gjesing. Gjesing’s company was founded 12 years ago and focuses on quality and design that tries to steer clear of the look of mass-produced bicycles.  With the ATB, everyone may think you’re riding an old bike, but that top-of-the-line Motorola MP3 helmet will make them think differently.

With that orange color and curved handlebar this bike has a retro look that makes a Commodore 64 LAN party look like the next Electronic Entertainment Expo. I’m mean, look at that seat: it’s straight out of the 70s, maybe earlier. This vintage design is quite costly, selling at $3200 dollars.

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Kick ass pedal powered Panzers are fighting the good fight. The second annual Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby inspired a group of guys to construct a human powered Panzer Kampwagen III in 11 days for the purpose of crashing the party. By the time they were finished the tank, they were too tired to crash any party, so they just spent the night in the tank.

If you’re in the Philadelphia area, you can visit the tank where it is now being displayed as public art on the west side of Frankford Ave, just north of Norris St. This monstrous skeleton of gears and steel will be the first place you’ll want to go when the bombs drop.

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There are plenty of software-based guitar solutions for guitarists but how many of them are open source? Very little, to be quite frank. Enter OpenStomp, an open source FX pedal solution for developers and players. The model above, the Coyote-1, can hook up to Windows so parameters can be edited on the fly. Sounds a lot like a MIDI-based solution that users can dive further into.

It may be open source but it still can’t turn you into Eddie Van Halen if you just plain suck. Remember, practice makes mediocre.

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Are you a bit overeager to get your kid launched in the air? Whether it be because you want him to be a pilot like dear old dad, or you really just want to imagine your baby soaring through the skies, the pedal-powered Mustang Plane will keep the little piglet busy for at least five minutes.

Of course, you could always grab someone else’s kid and perform a little football punt to watch a youngin’ float through the sky, but then you’ll more than likely have the child welfare offices, not to mention the FBI, tailing your ass like a prized glazed donut. The Mustang planes are made to order in about 12-20 weeks and will set you back a whopping $1,840.

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Adding pedals to a quadriplegics wheelchair is almost as cruel as trying to force them to dance to “These Boots Are Made For Walking”. In fact, adding pedals to any wheelchair seems pretty cruel, but studies have shown that in some instances, they can be beneficial to a patients rehabilitation.

Getting the patients legs moving again can work wonders when they make their way out of the seat. It’s still pretty funny to imagine the pedals on a really handicapped persons wheelchair, albeit extremely cruel. They’d be better off with a mind-powered wheelchair. — Andrew Dobrow

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Earlier this week we discussed the two proper ways of traveling through the eyes of a environmentalist, biking and walking, which happened to be merged into one gadget of awesomeness with the Walking Bike and its sneaker wheels. This time around, we have the yin to the Walking Bike’s yang, with the Jump Bike.

Instead of relying more on wheels and pedals, the Jump Bike focuses more on the human powered aspect, powered by the propulsion of your own running speed as you sit on the seat, peddling like the Flintstone’s. Now we have bike’s for both breeds of the confused eco-friend. (more…)

Haha, look at you and your bike with its measly 2 wheels and one seat. We feel SORRY for you! The GoBoy-X2 is a eco-friendly alternative to the bicycle, offering a much more manly four-wheels, and even a second seat for your girlfriend, or most likely, your mother.

Totally free of air and noise pollution, the only bummer about the GoBoy is that you actually have to make an effort to travel. Laziness might win over environmental friendliness. — Andrew Dobrow

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