A reminder of the deadline for the "Refresh Work-From-Home Life" challenge popped up on the Hackaday.com feed on Friday.  I hadn't really been aware of it.  I had looked at the "Rethink Displays" challenge, but couldn't come up with any ideas.

The "Refresh Work-From-Home Life" thing just happened to mesh with something I'd done anyway.

This is not the most involved or intricate project, but it fits the concept.

This project is in truth rather simple, and it was rather crudely carried out.  I'm not a carpenter, I'm just a guy with some hand tools, time, and an idea (or two.)  It turns out that combination is enough to make some useful things.

My "Exer-desk" is helping me get some exercise and improve my health.  Its useis only possible because of the peculiar set of conditions that have conspired to let (read: "forced") me (and many others) to work from home.

I've decided to enter this project in the challenge.

It isn't an Earth-shatteringly new idea.  It isn't especially clever.  It is just a combination of some existing things in useful way.

Before I set out to write this up, I did a quick Google search and found that I could have bought a combined desk and exercise bike.  I could have saved myself the trouble, and just bought one.

I didn't, and hadn't even thought to consider it when I set out to build my desk.  I made something for myself that somebody else happens to already produce and sell.  So it goes.

I do hope that my project will give others ideas.  Maybe someone will manage to couple the exercise bike to a generator to charge a laptop battery (or provide power to the TV.)  Maybe someone else will make a nice looking "Exer-desk" instead of the industrial ugly one I came up with.

Even if all it does is to encourage someone to buy and use a commercially made desk and exercise bike rig, that's still a win.  Any exercise is better than none.