The trampe, sort-of like a tow rope for your bike
 

Thought this was pretty cool, give you a push up the steepest hills. Blazingly simple, hundreds of thousands of users w/no injuries since 1993.


Trampe: Norwegian Bicycle Escalator - Boing Boing Gadgets


http://gadgets.boingboing.net/gimages/trampe.jpg

That is a pretty good idea, I wonder how much it cost to put in one of those things for like 10 miles lets say.

America's too damn fat for that, serious. Great idea, just won't work here. (Not hating)

We are too fat... I think most people don't do bikes because we are too unfit, its slower, hills are harder, and no a/c.....

shoot, it would work great in plenty of cities. Too fat to stand on one leg for a bit then coast down on your arse? c'mon now, that is just defeatist.

Get on your bikes and ride! :)

Have you seen the...uh "heavy people" that ride electric wheel chairs because they can't walk.

Yep, I see them all the time. Several members of my family are approaching or have already been there. One of them just got gastric bypass surgery, one is about to die of "other causes" (Vietnam Vet - do the math).

All in all, they're fat. I'm not shy about pronouncing their obvious weight disadvantage, either. It's not a matter of "I can't lose weight", it's a matter of "I'm not willing to do what it takes, because sitting on my backside and rotting from the insides out is easier."

I can't wait until there is another generation of people who understand that hard work can be enjoyable if you make it that way. Hopefully, it will come at a time that I'm still alive. Maybe then I'll become social.

Don't get me wrong. I'm lazy. Honestly. But I know that I have to work to make a living (in some capacity), so I do what I have to do. Then again, I'm not worried about making more money than Joe down the street, or living in excess like most of America does.

Oh, look... we're off topic.

Yeah, those Bike-scalators are pretty cool... I'm sure they'd come in handy for even the people who enjoy biking, but would try to make it up a longer hill than they're used to. Get tired, stop, grab the bike-scalator, get to the top, catch a nice breeze on the way down, start riding again.

Look at Seattle , 8th fittest state, tons of bicyclers and tons of hills, it very well could work there, haven't heard a valid reason why it wouldn't.