The Los Angeles Times “Gear” column covers human powered wheeled machines that combine gym equipment with bikes to create hybrids like this Street Strider.

Believe it or not, I see one of these Street Striders many evenings used a commuter vehicle.

I think the benefit of something like this is supposed to be a more complete workout. The Times Gear columnist who reviews these products, Roy Wallack, is a fitness freak, runner and cyclist, so I’d think he would know that aerobic capacity is what limits his speed and endurance when he writes about how using his arms is like “you’re on a regular bike with an extra motor.” If you can’t get more oxygen to your guns, it doesn’t matter how many motors you have or how big they are.

Via bike business consultant Rick Vosper, who tweeted, “The LA Times showcases four bikes you definitely don’t want to see under your Xmas tree. Or anyone else’s.“

More goofy quadripowered bike fun at Los Angeles Times.

Roger Kramer in St Louis published a letter supporting the creation of a bike sidepath along U.S. Route 66 through Macoupin and Montgomery Counties in southern Illinois.

The historic and iconic Route 66 begins in Chicago, IL and, like the song says, passes through St. Louis. That prompted the question from me: How would one bike from Chicago to St. Louis?

It turns out the League of Illinois Bicyclists publishes a very handy Route 66 guide to promote cycling along this National Scenic Byway down the length of Illinois. The guide is published in a downloadable booklet, with each segment showing a 50 to 60 mile segment of the route, cue sheets, and a list of convenience stores, restaurants, lodging, camping, bike shops and Amtrak stations near this cycling route. It looks very handy for anybody planning a bike trip from Chicago to St. Louis.

More ->
* League of Illinois Bicyclists Route 66 Guide.
* Roger Kramer and a Route 66 side path in Southern Illinois

Danny compiled a list of the 10 most expensive bicycles. His list includes a $114,000 gold plated fixed gear bicycle, the diamond studded Trek Madone 5.9 auctioned off at a charity fund raiser in 2005, a $28,000 limited edition of Chanel’s city bike, and more.

Read more at Danny’s Sidi Ergo blog.

Happy Monday, and I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving holiday in the USA. A couple of odds and ends you might have missed over the long weekend.

Caltrain to have GPS driven real time delay info. Caltrain says they will equip their trains with GPS transponders and provide real time arrival & delay information that will be available on the existing electronic station signs and through 511. The San Mateo Times mentions the crowd source Twitter/Caltrain service that Ravi P cobbled together in response to service delays last year. Caltrain expects this service to be available “by 2011” according to KCBS.

Judge Peter Busch loosens San Francisco bike injunction. Late Wednesday afternoon, San Francisco Superior Court judge Peter Busch modified the bike project injunction to allow “most easily reversible” projects to move forward. Before this, the City has been unable even to install bike racks. The bad news: Judge Busch scheduled a hearing for next June to determine if the now completed Bike Plan Environmental Impact Review complies with the California Environmental Quality Act. The 2,000 page Bike Plan EIR is four times longer than the bike plan itself (at 500 pages). Read more at Streetsblog SF.

This video of the Muppets performing Queen’s “Bohemiam Rhapsody” is hilarious. In case you haven’t seen it yet…

There’s a Muppets Studio page on YouTube of all new videos of the Muppets. I love it.

We already knew that, actually, but what’s kind of cool is that news crews caught him and some friends as they left for a morning bike ride the Friday after Thanksgiving day.