Okay, I’m totally drooling over this FlexFix bike rack, which is fully integrated into the bumper of the Opel Antara (a European car that’s basically the same as the 2008 Saturn Vue).
The FlexFix is essentially a drawer that you pull out from the vehicle’s rear bumper. Want to use your bike rack? Great, load them up. Done biking? Just slide the rack back into its secret hidden mount inside the base of the vehicle.
The rack can hold two bicycles, and it includes an extra rear license plate and supplemental brake lights. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
Right now this is only going to be available in Europe, but one can hope these will become common place upgrades in the near future for U.S. SUVs. I hate my current bike rack, which cost a fortune because my hybrid SUV didn’t come with a towing package, so I might even be tempted to buy a new car for something like this…
via Autoblog
Well, I’m not sure I’d call fishing “fitness” exactly, but I found this portable, digital fish scale and thought it might make a good Christma gift for someone, so I’m going to go ahead and write about it. This is for the fisherman (or fisher woman) who wants to know right away whether that catch is worth taking home or needs to be tossed back.
The portable scale is lightweight, waterproof, and buoyant, so it’s no problem if it falls in the water. The LCD screen gives you the weight of your fish (up to 25 pounds), and the scale “remembers” the 5 heaviest fish, so you can prove to friends just how big your biggest catch was (as long as you don’t cheat and weigh some old boots or something…)
Available from RedEnvelope, the scale costs $90.
If you’re taking the water aerobics class at the local swimming pool, chances are you’ve just got some of those little styrofoam barbells for exercise aids. Well, these “Swym” hydro resistance training aids from Speedo are supposed to be a little more high tech. They’re kind of like wrist and ankle weights for the water. Pictured here are the arm versions; you slip them on, and they provide resistance when you’re doing exercises where your arms are under the water. You can get matching leg trainers, which make it more of a workout to move your legs around. Use these in conjunctions with those styrofoam barbells, and you’ll be shedding pounds in no time.
If you prefer riding your bike to walking, you might prefer a MP3 player specifically designed to attach to your bicycle over something like the backpack with speakers I blogged about last week. The player attaches between your handlebars, and it comes with speakers, so you can blast your tunes while you ride (or listen to them quietly). Though it might not thrill those around you, this is actually a pretty good idea. You can listen to your music without wearing headphones, which can be dangerous if your riding in traffic (or even on a busy trail), since you can’t always hear what’s going on around you.
The mp3 player runs on 4 AAA batteries and has 1 GB of flash memory, which holds up to 240 songs. The cost is $130 from Hammacher:
Some people will say that you can get all the vitamins you need just by following a healthy diet. Others argue that the land we grow crops in is so depleted of minerals after so much use, that it’s impossible to get all the nutrients like selenium and magnesium that you need for a healthy body. And let’s face it: hardly anybody eats a truly healthy diet anyway. Despite all the things suggested by the FDA’s food pyramid, the truth of the matter is that if you’re eating grains, dairy, sugar, salt, and truly weird stuff like hydrogenated oil and corn syrup, you’re not eating the things human beings evolved to eat (meats, fish, veggies, low-sugar fruits, seeds, nuts… Google paleo diet if you want the scoop). So, yeah, I think most of us need vitamins.
You can buy men’s and Women’s Vitamins* online, often for quite a discount over what you’d pay at the local supplements or health food store. For women, some of the issues that may be improved by supplementing with vitamins are symptoms of menopause, osteoporosis, and pre-menstrual issues. Vitamins, whether for men or women, can also just make you feel better all around. You’ll be better able to fight of flues, colds, and other infections.
*Sponsored link
I’ve seen bicycles for two people and even bicycles for three people, but a bicycle built for seven? The Seven-Person Conference Bicycle from Hammacher Schlemmer is just that. At first glance, it looks more like some kind of buggy or go-cart than a bicycle, but if you look closely, all seven people are sitting on bicycle seats with pedals beneath them, so I guess it counts. After all, a bike would have to have a pretty sturdy base to support that much weight (it can support up to 1400 pounds, so I guess that means no fatties allowed, unless you’ve got a few kids to bring down the average).
Interesting it might be, but this bike doesn’t come cheap. It’s in the catalogue at $18,999.95 (plus $650 shipping and handling). Shockingly (I think), it’s sold out. Wonder who is buying these things. If you want your own for you and your six closest friends, or just to get more information on the contraption, you can keep an eye on the web page:
When you go for a walk, it’s easy to strap on a pedometer to measure the distance you travel. But what about when you’re on a bicycle? Well, something like the Cat Eye CC-CD300DW bike computer could do the job and then some. It straps to your handle bars with a transmitter attached to the left chain stay to keep track of what your wheels are doing.
Let’s take a look at some of the features of this “cyclometer”:
- records total pedal revolutions
- keeps track of current, average, and maximum speeds as well as current, average, and maximum cadence
- offers lap/split timer and keeps track of lap distance, cadence, and speed
- includes white LED backlight, so you can view the screen at night