Feb 11 2010
Pedal Power!
Generate More Than Sweat With Your Cycling Toil
I don’t want to lose my cycling muscles just because I’m not riding outside on roads that are icy and unsafe. To help keep fit in bad weather, then, I ride what I call “the nowhere bike,” a stationary bicycle set up in front of the DVD player so I can stave off boredom, and next to a window so I can see there is an outside world (and to provide entertainment for the birds at their feeders). As I sweat and toil, I’ve often wished I could use that energy for more than just keeping fit. After all, if I’m going to struggle going nowhere, I should at least be able to get a tangible reward. If only I could power the DVD player while riding….
Well, as it happens, it is possible to generate electrical power with a bike. No one who uses a generator light will be surprised by that. And the folks at Hesperian.org aren’t surprised, either. Herperian is the publisher of Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook, and Where There is No Dentist (If interested, I’ve reviewed these books in “Beyond Band-Aids—Medical Handbooks for Paddlers” which, despite the title, will interest cyclists, hikers, and anyone else venturing forth outside.) They’ve published other useful books and guides, too. Maybe you haven’t heard about them. In their own words…
Hesperian is a non-profit publisher of books and newsletters for community-based health care. … Simply written and heavily illustrated, Hesperian books are designed so that people with little formal education can understand, apply and share health information. Developed collaboratively with health workers and community members from around the world, our books and newsletters address the underlying social, political, and economic causes of poor health and suggest ways groups can organize to improve health conditions in their communities. In addition, Hesperian relies on a multi-faceted distribution strategy to ensure our materials reach those who need them most.
But what does all this have to do with bicycles? Just this: Last week I received a letter from Hesperian’s Ingrid Hawkinson, pointing me toward one of their publications, A Community Guide to Environmental Health, specifically at this on page 543:
Three ways to use pedal power to do a different kind of work are shown on this page from Chapter 23, entitled “Clean Energy.” In one case, a woman seems to be grinding grain by pedaling a flywheel that spins the shaft of a grinder. In the second picture, a bicycle is set up to charge a battery. And in the third, one of a group of women powers a blender with a bicycle, making shampoo from homegrown aloe vera, which is sold to support their families and support reforestation efforts. There are more examples of stationary bicycles being used for work. Just click on over to Hesperian.org and check it out for yourself.
