Is it possible....

Here's a DIY video I saw that's pretty cool:

My hubbie is in the process of building one of these as we speak.  We are waiting on the generator to show up.  We live out in the sticks so we are at the mercy of the postal system.  I'll keep you posted as to the results. 

Right now the plan is to charge one of those portable battery packs and then power off of it.  I would love to tell the kids they have to pedal to earn power for the game systems!

Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal back in March 2007:

HONG KONG -- A health club here is hoping that a car battery, some StairMasters and dozens of gym rats can help ease the world's energy problems....

Experiments range from a dance floor that generates electricity from the vibrations of the dancers to energy-harvesting shoes that convert motion from walking into electricity. One shoe prototype can generate about six watts, more than enough to power a cellphone.

Like many of these projects, the California Fitness setup isn't going to light up the Hong Kong skyline or even power the club's own air conditioning. The gym chain has rigged up 13 machines at one of its clubs here. When all of them are in use, the power generated amounts to about 300 watts, roughly enough to run three 27-inch television sets, five 60-watt light bulbs or several hundred video iPods.

[Head over to the Wall Street Journal for the whole article]

A few years back, I remember reading an article about the original Google chef Charlie Ayers and his various considerations for opening a restaurant in Palo Alto, CA...one possibility was having stationary bikes somewhere in the facility for patrons to come and do some spinning (to generate electricity for the restaurant) and in return, get a coupon or something.  Who knows if they ever got that together (considering the restaurant opening date seems to have gotten pushed off again to November 2008).  But it'd be pretty fun, I think!

I know there are excersize bikes that use the power generated to run the display for the bike or whatever, but yeah you probably generate more energy than just that would use up by biking.