Portland gym will run on pedal power

[depakid]

Personal trainer DeAnna Bellamy (left) and owner Adam Boesel pedal exercise bikes that feed batteries at soon-to-open Green Microgym.
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People will do more than burn energy at a gym set to open Sept. 1 on Northeast Alberta Street. They'll also create it.

At the Green Microgym, human energy will be harnessed from fitness bikes and converted to electricity.

Owner Adam Boesel hopes the gym eventually will run solely on the energy it generates. Boesel, 37, says the gym will be the first of its kind in the U.S. and a good fit in eco-conscious Portland.

Globally, it will join Hong Kong's California Fitness gym, where exercisers power lights and batteries, and London nightspot Club Surya, where a dance floor converts movement into energy.

Dave Erwin, an environmental studies professor at Portland State University, says that as energy prices soar, more people are concerned about how they affect the environment. People "are trying to turn an energy shortage into an asset," he says. "It's a fascinating concept."

Like other fitness centers, the 2,800-square-foot Green Microgym will have treadmills, bikes and elliptical trainers. But the treadmills, with energy-efficient motors, will use 30 percent less power than normal machines.

And four spin bikes -- stationary bikes that don't use electricity -- will produce 200 to 600 watts of energy an hour, says Mike Taggett of Texas, who developed them. Four or five other spin bikes in the gym will be attached to generators Boesel developed. All will feed a battery bank that can be tapped for the gym's electricity needs, though the power generated will be modest at first.

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/08/portland_gym_will_run_on_pedal.html

[yellowcanine]

1. Wait. The patrons provide energy for the building and pay for the privilige?

Sweet deal if you can get it.

[sandnsea]

2. Well they could walk, run or

ride a real bike for free. So there must be something more to going to the gym than just the building.

Ack. I guess some people will always find something to bitch about.

[yellowcanine]

3. Who's bitching? I guess I should have included an appropriate smiley. I think it is a good idea.

But there is a certain irony, don't you see it?

[99th_Monkey]

4. Damn. This guy stole my idea, which I've been talking about for years .. and I LIVE in Portland.

I swear to God. Coincidence? maybe. actually, I don't have the capital to pull something like this off anyway,
so more power (no pun intended) to Mr. Boesel and his eco-friendly gym. Maybe I'll even join .. if they have a
decent hot tub that is.

[Javaman]

5. Hope they're not open 24 hours! LOLOLOL

:rofl: