Old school "virtual reality" exercise bike

Now that Brian's got us all thinking about where to put our exercise equipment for optimum use, let's all be thankful that we're not finding a home for this monstrosity. Ah, yes -- the LaserTour. Introduced in 1982 for a whopping $20,000 a piece, these exercise bikes came complete with your very own (and very enormous) virtual reality station -- utilizing the "modern magic of microelectronics to create a totally new concept of surrogate travel."

So as you pedal faster, the landscape moves faster -- far out!

The machine is even constructed to help you "feel" the ups and downs of going over hills.

Of course, none of this takes into consideration that you can buy a real bike, that you can ride in the real outside, for about $19,800 less than the cost of a LaserTour. I guess it's not surprising that these didn't stick around through the decades.

[via Boing Boing]