Bike Michiana

Trek has rolled out the first vending machine for cyclists that I’ve ever heard of.  It sits outside the Machinery Row Bicycles shop in Madison, Wisconsin, not that far from Trek’s Waterloo headquarters.  It carries items for bike commuters like energy bars, tubes, water bottles (filled I presume), and chain grease.  Compressed air and a sturdy repair stand come free, it appears.

I think this is a great idea.  It may be a decent substitute for a full-on bike station like that in Chicago’s Millennium and Irving Parks, and on Minneapolis’s Midtown Greenway.  That said, it’s probably only economically viable in areas with high population density and a ton of bike commuters.

[via Bicycle Design]