This sounds pretty interesting. Specialized recently launched the “Innovate or Die” contest on YouTube, which challenges participants to create a machine that “transforms pedaling energy into a new and useful purpose”. To enter, you, and up to 4 other design team members, can post a video of your machine before December 15^th. The winner will receive $5,000 and a bike from the Globe line (like the very nice looking Globe Centrum Comp IG8 pictured here). Read more about the contest at the “Innovate or Die” website and also at Bike Hugger. And of course, let me know if any of you Bicycle Design readers enter the contest.

Speaking of Specialized, I read on Cyclelicious that company president Mike Sinyard and a few other Specialized employees rode their bikes 600 miles from the company’s California headquarters to Interbike in Las Vegas. Very cool.

I haven’t been able to follow Interbike this year as much as I would like to, but I will let you know a few of the sources I have been checking out. The good news is that there is no shortage of Interbike coverage around the blogosphere. Bike Hugger has a separate URL for Interbike coverage. They also have created a Flickr group that allows people to post their shots from the show. Fritz from Cyclelicious is also at Interbike. He is mainly looking for commuter-oriented products and, based on his posts from the last couple days, it appears that he is not having much trouble finding them. Go Clipless has a good list of links to Interbike coverage (with a mountain bike slant of course). Among others, Graham mentions MTBR.com, which has been one of the best sources for Interbike pictures for many years. This year is no exception, so check out their galleries for pictures of all kinds of bikes and bike products.

I have also been keeping up with Interbike by listening to the daily show coverage from the Fredcast (In case you are wondering, I have been listening to that coverage though my iPod headphones and not through these crazy stem mounted bike speakers). Anyway, the latest Fredcast episode mentioned one product that really caught my attention. The Quarq Qranium is a Linux based bicycle computer. The company claims it to be the “most advanced bicycle computer ever made”. Take a look at the technical specs on the Quarq website and you will understand why they can make that claim. The latest Garmin models have received a lot of attention lately, and I expect that we will see a lot more GPS based units in the near future. This Quarq product though, probably represents the future direction that bicycle computers will take in the coming years. I just wish I could afford one.