Implements:

Shoes for running:

Present options: Saucony Fast Twitch, Adidas Ace, Asics Nimbus, and the nearly bare feet of Vibram's Five Fingers (educational).

The very silly Vibram Five Fingers Sprint looks like this:

Tried and discarded: Nike Frees (5.0s, which certainly aren't as minimal as they might be); Newton Distance (felt good and kind of fast but the compression bar things can annoy the foot; plus, they induced spectacular pronation that my actual feet have never heard of), Nike Mayflys (tyvek happiness; weird heel feel).

The all-purpose commuting bike:

A Bridgestone MB4, a relic. The beast has handled six years of Boston's humidity, rain, cold and snow, a similar amount of time in NYC, and is now enjoying what northern Vermont has to offer. Steel frame, no shocks. Upgraded most components to XT and many years ago moved up to V-brakes (from cantilevers). Enhanced/encumbered with Powercranks (see below). Riding in the snow, by the way, is very good evidence for why one should be alive.

Interesting cranks:
I use PowerCranks on the Bridgestone. The cranks operate independently so you have to turn the whole circle on each leg and keep the cranks synchronized. I think they're good for building and maintaining general leg health. They're especially beneficial for the psoas and other hip-flexorish muscles, as well as the hamstrings. From a performance point of view, their value is much debated (search for powercranks here for example). I think they're probably better for running than for cycling.

Here's the sell:


The crazy bike

Acquired an old Softride Powerwing through an online second hand market. Overall: comfortable, supposedly aerodynamic, with possibly some power loss with the flex in the beam. The bike's quality helps but not as much as you might hope. The company stopped producing bikes in 2006 so, like the Bridgestone, my tri bike is a relic as well. 2009 update: had the front end replaced by the very good people at Fitwerx out in Waitsfield. The bike actually handles well now after some years of terrifying behaviour on descents (it wasn't me after all).

Bike shoes and pedals:

For triathlons, I have an old pair of Sidi T2's and I couple these with Speedplay cleats and X2 pedals. I had Speedplay frogs on my commuting machine (see below) but the connection wasn't solid enough to make using powercranks (also see below) a satisfying experience. Some basic Time pedals have worked well.

Bike trainer
I use the excellent bike trainer from 1upusa.com:
The feel is extremely good and it's relatively quiet. The resistance is through centrifugal pressure rather than a fluidic or magnetic mechanism.

Miscellaneous bike-related objects:

Laptop portage:

Spire backpacks are great.

Panniers:

For commuting, I employ the excellent utility basket panniers made by Arkel, plus an ancient one from Fitzroy (whose twin fell off my bike somewhere in Central Park). Arkel's attachment system is very enjoyable and is sold as an upgrade.

Lights:

I have long used the Apex Cabeza Logic (below left) and the dual beam Apex DI (below right) from Light & Motion. Very nice indeed. Excellently adjustable; weightless headlamp with good, white light; compact batteries.


General conditioning:

Strength

Kettlebells, rings, Swiss balls.

Floorwork Mats

A good base mat is the black mat (I'm pointing to Barefoot Yoga but other places sell the same mat). These are relatively expensive but very durable and long. Cotton yoga mats are useful too. These mats play well with washing machines.

Having unyogaed myself, I use these mats solely for Pilates and related behaviour. Three works well: Black mat + standard yoga mat + cotton mat.