Implements that enhance the enjoyment/pain of physical exertion, if only psychologically:

Shoes for running:

Present options: the Distance from Newton, the nearly bare feet of Vibram's Five Fingers, and bare feet (educational).

The somewhat silly Newton Distance and the very silly Vibram Five Fingers Sprint look like this:

Tried and discarded: Nike Frees (5.0s, which certainly aren't as minimal as they might be).
Occasionally used: Nike Mayflys (tyvek happiness).

Bikes:

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. Perhaps a bit too big for mountain biking (but it was a serviceable mountain bike in its time). Upgraded most components to XT and many years ago moved up to V-brakes (from cantilevers). Using a Terry seat with the big hole that's there for obvious reasons but people still ask. I tell them it's there for obvious reasons. Riding in the snow, by the way, is very good evidence for why one should be alive.

The whole thing (with four panniers) weighs around fifty pounds.

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.

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 objects:

Panniers:

For commuting, I employ three of 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 for panniers of any stripe.

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.


Non-leather bike saddles: Terry makes a synthetic version of its Butterfly and Fly. And some old Specialized Body Geometry saddles fit the bill.


General conditiong:

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.




Rings for many interesting exercises.