Like many folks, I've converted to working at home during the last year.  As a programmer, I don't need much in the way of equipment - a computer and a couple of monitors, and I'm good to go.

I have a small "office" in the attic of my house.  For most of the last year, I had a standard desk and office chair in there.  I worked in my little cubby hole just like I did in the normal office in the company building.

For the last month or so, I've been using this setup in place of a regular desk and office chair:

That's a very high desk with an exercise bike under it.

The idea sort of presented itself.

About a month ago, a friend of my wife returned a small "under desk exercise bike"  that we had loaned out.

That's this thing:

My wife used that thing as part of her therapy after having her knee replaced.

I used to be a really active person.  As a young man, I was 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed 120 pounds - the kind of bean pole who could change clothes behind a telephone pole.  I used to spend about two hours a day walking - not sports, but just getting from A to B to do things.  I walked to work, I walked to get lunch and go back to the office, I walked home ( the long way) in the evenings to take care of the grocery shopping (and pick up the occasional bag of kitty litter.)

When my wife and I moved to the small town we live in, the walking ceased.  I had to drive every where because nothing is close enough to walk.  I drove twenty miles to work.  I drove from the office to someplace to get lunch and go back to work.  I drove to the grocery store on the way home.

My weight has, naturally, gone up over the years.  If I stand sideways behind a telephone pole, you can see my front and my backside at the same time.

Working from home has actually made things worse.  I used to get at least the 5 minute walk from the parking lot to the office and back.  Now all I get is the climb up the stairs to my office in the attic.

I looked at that little exercise bike and thought "Ya know, it wouldn't bother anybody at all if I put that under my desk in my home office."

So I did it - and regretted it.

My desk didn't have much room under it and I kept bumping my knees.  My office chair kept rolling away from the exercise bike while I was trying to pedal.

The chair needed something to stop it from rolling away, and the desk needed to be higher or at least deeper.

I kept thinking it over and coming up with horrible, wobbly constructions that would be difficult and expensive to build and that probably wouldn't work very well.

I went to buy new tires for my real (and rarely used) bike one day last month.  The shop I went to happened to also sell exercise bikes.  I walked by one, and hopped on the seat on a whim.  It fit perfectly, and was surprisingly cheap.  I ordered one on the spot and had it delivered to my house.

The weekend after that, I went to one of the local building goods stores and bought a piece of kitchen counter top.  The stores often have small pieces left over after installing kitchens.  They sell those pieces pretty cheap.  I bought one that would be wide enough and deep enough to fit my computers and monitors for about 10 Euros.

I had a bunch of lumber in the garage that would serve as legs.  I bought some angle brackets and a bunch of screws to put it all together.

From the lumber and the countertop, I built a desk high enough for the new exercise bicycle (and my knees) to fit under.

Thus was born the "Exer-desk."

I spend about eight hours a day on the saddle of the exercise bike.  I don't pedal for all of those eight hours, but even just sitting still takes more effort than lounging around in a regular office chair.  I spend most of the time "half standing" - weight on one foot on the pedal with the other leg over the saddle so that it can rest.

I do spend some time during the day actively pedaling.  I try to pedal during compiler runs or when my computer is busy doing other long running tasks.  It makes video conferences slightly less boring - the video camera only sees my head,  and doesn't show me pedaling furiously like a Lance Armstrong wannabe,
 
I haven't been tracking my weight, but it seems to me that my pants are getting looser - or the wishful thinking stronger.

Regardless, I find that my back hurts less than it used to.  Office chairs try to be comfortable, which encourages you to sit still - the muscles in the back get lazy.  The bicycle saddle encourages me to move around and to sit (or stand) in different positions during the day - strengthening my back rather than weakening it.