http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Blog of almost daily workouts on the PPPM - Pedal Powered Prime Mover - to generate electricity for use in my home office. en-us Copyright 2007, The WEBworks http://www.got.net/~davidbu/davidbu/avatar.gif http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen.html David Pedaling the PPPM http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Tension spring is fixed. Pedal Powered Prime Mover is singing out power again. My day is empty without you, babe. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Halfway through the workout, the tension spring broke. 5 years of pulling the generator down onto the flywheel finally wore it out. I'll have a replacement in place tomorrow. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Take care, Norm! I hope you recover fast. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Fast ride! I am finally getting on top of my workload. All during my workout, as I generate electricity, I plan my workday. Hey you! You, reading this! Get out of your car and onto your bike! Get into shape with a PPPM and stop buying gas from Iran! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Fast ride before my Monday staff meeting. Nice steady 105 Watt pace in the middle and of course the 120 Watt sprint at the end. Are you still buying gasoline made from Iranian oil? Why? http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Fast late night pedal. Lots of work to do this evening, and tomrrow will be a huge day with many month-end deadlines coming due. Wow! I'm glad I'm in shape! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Nice fast pedal late in the day, just before dinner. I charged the Datsun, the Portable Power Pack, 12volt spotlight, battery radio, and my cell phone. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Warm morning! It feels like spring already The PPPM is rolling well. I'm tired from many late work nights and my WattsUp meter shows it! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html I pedaled an extra 10 Watt-hours to keep warm. You cannot be cold while pedaling, no matter how cold the air is around you. More energy is coming off you as heat than is flowing out the generator! My pedal generator has a 12 Volt computer fan to keep me cool and I run it even in Winter, outdoors. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Hard ride after a late night of work. Very warm morning as a tropical storm blew through. Working all weekend wore me out. I had trouble holding The 105 Watt pace after the first 50 Watt-hours. It's tough sometimes, but I keep riding! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Short fast ride! I stayed above 130 Watts the whole time, finishing in less than 30 minutes. Unfortunately, my workload is so heavy I am working this evening so I could not take the time to do the full 110 Watt-hour ride I usually do. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Nice ride! A full hour to think about whatever I want. Increased bloodflow and endorphins revving up my thought processes. Power flowing into the battery bank! Very cool. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Warm, wet morning as the first winter storm arrived. Work is killing ne, yet I ride! It feels great. Are you still exercising and NOT generating electricity? Why? http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Rain coming. It's a tropical storm, so it will warm up a bit. I'm pedaling steadily, studying every morning while I ride, and losing a pound a day! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Hard, fast ride. First storm of the season arrives tomorrow - heavy rain predicted. My workload is increasing - good time to be shut in. I charged phones, razor, eGo electric scooter, radio, and spotlight with this ride. Are you still overweight from the Holidays? I'm losing a pound on every ride. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Coldest day of the year. Pedaling hard in 31 degree air! I'm just barely warm enough in shorts with no shirt. Invigorating! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Hard ride. The new battery charger plus the laptop plus everything else is a 135 Watt pace. Too much for me for an hour! I shut off the laptop partway through so I could catch a bit, and then turned it back on to post this. Are YOU powering your cell phone with a Nuclear plant? Why? http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Short ride - it's Sunday and I have too much work to do! That's how busy my January has been so far. I charged a new 18 Volt Lithium Battery that I received as a Christmas present for a Ryobi Plus system. I also received a 12 Volt DC Car charger and I have no problem keeping up with it! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Inspiring ride. I charged the eGo electric scooter after riding it to my local grocery store to buy a week of groceries. It tows a trailer and I can load up 100 pounds of groceries with no problem. Then it needs a charge! It only takes one workout to charge it. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Hooray - it's Friday! I'm charging the battery in my Datsun Roadster. I'll take the eGo electric scooter (with trailer!) to Fresh and Easy tonight for a weeks worth of groceries, and then pedal charge it tomorrow. Are YOU still buying Iranian oil? http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html I had to keep riding to power the Windows Updates! Another cold but perfectly clear morning with bright moonlight. Beautiful. Work is taking all my time. Pedal power projects wlii need to wait until Spring. But I wont sop generating! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Fast ride. Lots of work to do. Weather is staying beautiful but cold. Batteries are strangely low. They are 10 years old! Hope you get back in groove soon, Norm. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Fast and cold! I'm back on the pace after the holiday breaks. I have a lot of studying to do, and I've queued up documents to review on the pedal-powered laptop. Working while riding, powered by me! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Cold! 37 degrees F. Great incentive to push hard. The days are sunny and warm (for Winter). I stayed in shape over the Holidays, but I gained weight. I'm burning it off! I'm picking up the pace at work, too. Pedaling helps me concentrate. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Late in the day. Sometimes I ride at night if my day is too crazy - and today was! The new roller is breaking in well. I charged the eGo and my peak power was 147 Watts! eGo charging is challenging - it wants to take more than I can give early in the charge cycle, so the battery helps me out early in the ride, and then I catch up later. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Smooth ride with a new roller. 40 degrees F in the "gym" - the garage - but I'm warm. Looks like the next oil war is shaping up. No oil used for this post. It's pedal powered. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Nice smooth ride after plenty of sleep. Sleep is the biggest factor that affects my output. Diet does not seem to have much effect. Mental state is important, but can't make up for lost sleep. Personal goals are very important, both during a single ride and across multiple rides. http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Happy new year! I'm back after a short break. I gained a few poinds and I'm ready to ride them off. Lookign forward to a GREAT 2012! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Warmer, windy morning. Busy work day planned. Almost time for a new roller on the PPPM. The PPPM is looking mighty rugged. I'll probably take it to TechShop for a cleanup next year. 5 years of hard pedaling have taken their toll! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Cold ride! Beautiful clear morning. 2012 approaches fast. Plenty of holiday spirit in the meantime. Nice job on the LED lights, Norm! http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/workout.html Cold morning in the garage, 35 degrees F. Batteries are surprisingly full. PPPM is running well. New LED porch light uses only 2 Watts. One morning ride could run it for 50 hours!