{"product_id":"pedal-power-in-work-leisure-and-transportation-james-c-wilson-mccullagh","title":"Pedal Power * James C. McCullagh","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn Work, Leisure, and Transportation. This fascinating, illustrated 1970s resource manual explores the untapped engineering possibilities of stationary bicycle power, presenting practical designs to hook up foot pedals to everyday tools like grain mills, water pumps, and electricity generators.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Story: Edited by prominent alternative technology advocate James C. McCullagh, this celebrated 1977 volume functions as a hands-on, community-focused guide to energy independence. McCullagh steps away from the expensive, high-tech automation systems that grew popular in the late twentieth century. Instead, pulling from research developed by the Rodale Press and innovators around the globe, he shares a heartfelt, personal blueprint demonstrating that human muscle power can step in as a highly efficient, low-impact alternative to fossil fuels for small-scale household and farm production chores.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book takes homesteaders, inventors, and history enthusiasts through a versatile structural landscape across its heavily illustrated pages. The layout organizes its engineering path into clear, self-contained workshop modules detailing the assembly parameters of the \"Energy Cycle,\" a multi-purpose stationary pedal unit. The text unpeels exactly how to transfer leg power through gears and belts to drive specific equipment, tracking precise guidelines to operate wood lathes, water pumps, corn shellers, and simple household kitchen appliances using smooth, rhythmic foot travel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRather than reading like a dry or abstract physics textbook, this unique guide feels like an encouraging companion for self-reliance. McCullagh includes vintage black-and-white photographs, custom diagram maps, and clear construction shortcuts designed to help backyard builders recycle old bicycle frames into practical, productive tools. Published as a highly collectible trade edition by Rodale Press, this rare out-of-print classic remains an essential cornerstone for alternative energy, green tech, and rustic homesteading shelves, showing how human energy can help heal our connection to the earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePerfect For: Homesteaders, DIY builders, and bicycle enthusiasts looking for an uncomplicated, highly detailed text to master appropriate technology and vintage engineering; fans of historical eco-living manuals and self-sufficiency guides like the works of John Seymour or Dan Price; and collectors archiving the roots of the modern green energy movement.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublished 1977 by Rodale Press.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScience \u0026amp; Technology \/ Appropriate Technology \/ Alternative Energy \u0026amp; Engineering \/ Bicycle History \/ Sustainable Living \/ Self-Reliance Handbooks\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chantal Toporow","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67776367689971,"sku":"202610090004ABB","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0840\/5722\/7507\/files\/1000018875.jpg?v=1792452345","url":"https:\/\/purpleslothmedia.com\/products\/pedal-power-in-work-leisure-and-transportation-james-c-wilson-mccullagh","provider":"Purple Sloth Media","version":"1.0","type":"link"}