How Online Students Celebrate Bike Month

DIY-Bike Desk for Online School Students, Teachers and Learning Coaches

By Anna Peacock-McLaughlin

First of all, it’s National Bike Month; and better yet, May 20th is the bike to work day. So, what do you do if your work (or school) is in your home? The answer is totally simple: make a stationary bike desk!

Just think of the hours you spend sitting when you could be riding on a stationary bike desk that you DIY! You can attend classes or meetings while on a bike. I’m writing this blogpost while peddling away! Go to any fitness club and you will see dozens of people riding and reading. Oh, and what about talking to your teachers on the phone or through video conference—again, that can totally happen on a bike!

Let’s face it, all sorts of daily tasks can easily be completed while gently biking into better health. Yes, I said, “gently.” We don’t have to win a competition or even sweat. We all simply need to move more and what a better time to start than today?

I truly hope you are now grinning from ear to ear because you are about to embark on a fun journey of in home health and fitness DIY to make your schooling experience even more awesome than it already is!

I created my desk in January–it was a bit of a New Year’s goal to move more. I love it! My favorite time of the day is my “ride to work” before my household wakes—during that time, I’m checking my email and grading assignments while calmly peddling to a healthier lifestyle in my home-based virtual classroom.

Here’s what you need to do to create your very own stationary bike desk.

1. Find a stationary bike. I bet there is one laying around your garage or a neighbors garage gathering dust! Many times you can even find “gently used” bikes at thrift stores like Goodwill or free ones by checking out sites like Craiglist. I picked mine up at a bigbox store that was going out of business for a mere $50.

2. Take a few measurements.

How big is your computer that you need to fit on the desk?

With the help of a friend, place a book at a comfy reading level. Using a protractor printout tool -mark the interior angle between the bottom of the book and the top of the stationary bike handle bars.

3. Head down to the hardware store and buy a few materials and tools for the DIY desk. (You can also gather old items in your garage like I did.)

a. Materials

i. Two Pine Shelf Brackets LOWES

ii. Ten Nails or screws LOWES

iii. One (small) Plywood sheet 1/2 inch thick cut to the size of your computer. They are sold in 2×2 foot sheets. LOWES Mine is made out of an old shelf from an Ikea bookshelf that broke. Lowe’s and Home Depot will both make two cuts in the small plywood sheet for you at the store–just tell them the size you want.

iv. 1×2 Firing Strip LOWES and ask them to cut it for you to the size of your computer.

b. Tools

i. A mini hacksaw LOWES.

ii. A hammer (or drill if using screws) LOWES

4. Now that you’ve gathered the materials and tools, let’s cut and assemble. First, using the shelf brackets, translate your desired angle measurement to the underside of the brackets. Then cut off the excess wood and your notch out a place for your desk to rest securely on your handle bars at the pre-measured angle. Next, attach your plywood desk top to the cut and notched brackets using at least 4 nails. Lastly, attach the 1×2 firing strip to the front of the desk creating a lip for so your computer can’t slide off.

5. Lastly, personalize your new desk with some artistic drawings or paint.

Here is an idea for how to construct a bike desk for a recumbent (reclining) bike.

And finally, if you’ve read this post—and you just want a more simple solution to a bike desk for your K12 International Academy schooling experience…then check out this $30 bike on Amazon that you can pop under your existing desk.

Please share your ideas for modifications to make your DIY stationary bike desk even more personal. Also, send in your pictures of you “riding to school!”