Knowing that I ride my fair share of bicycles, a friend of mine sent a link to this video…

My first reaction was that of disbelief and awe… thinking perhaps the man merely catapult mounted a very tall custom bicycle, wove through traffic ’til out of view and then dropped down; it’s a go to reaction to be skeptical of youtube videos, I can’t help it… However on his return pass you can see him operate his amazing bicycle with a little bit of forward motion and maybe some sort of a push of a button or lever?

I could imagine this magical transformer bicycle would be an incredibly useful tool for commuting; where visibility, and maneuvering is of constant importance. It’s always best to be nice to cars; they can’t help that they don’t understand why you are riding your bicycle through the snow and sleet.. so if you’re going to confuse them.. you may as well baffle them when you squeeze past them when traffic is all backed up by the 20 or so singularly occupied four door vehicles waiting for the light to change.

Calling mechanical engineers out there; BTB design contest?

Lot’s of interesting things come across the email box these days… however it’s quite rare that there are ridiculous diagrams and pictures of indoor bicycling world sized playgrounds.. much less are they an update of in progress honest to goodness coming to life of these magical places right in upstate new york!

They call it CranX & they say it will feature:

• Indoor Park portion situated within a 90,000 plus square foot building, formerly warehouse space.
• Will have a fitness room with trainers and spin classes.
• Will also have a party room, lounge, and indoor golf range.
• Outdoor Park portion in excess of 3 acres.
• Bike Park will cater to Mountain Bike, BMX Bike and Road Bike enthusiasts.
• Section, Beginner, Intermediate and Expert Areas.
• Indoor and Outdoor Park will feature Half Pipe, Foam Pit, Cross Country Track, Pump Tracks, Running/Walking Track, Berm Trails, Freeride Trails, Jump Trails, Road Track, Street
• This will be one of 3 Indoor Parks of this Class on the North American Continent. The Outdoor Component of CranX will be the largest of the 3
• Family oriented, features for all ages and experience.
• Season’s Membership Passes, Day Passes, Combination Packs & Fitness Memberships will be available.

exterior plan

exterior plan 2

In general – I am a fan of breathing life into neglected buildings… and this is definitely a BTB approved way to do it. Check out the progress in their photo gallery or just see more at www.cranx.com; it appears it’s going to be right over in DeWitt on Thompson Rd… very awesome.