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A Pelo-TON of Money: The Government Spent $250K on Exercise Equipment.

The Air Force, Sure. FBI, Maybe. But the Agricultural Research Service?


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Two problems with this right off the bat: costs and security concerns.

According to a report from TMZ, the government has spent close to a quarter million dollars on Peloton bikes and exercise equipment for a wide variety of departments: the Air Force, Army and FBI all ordered bikes —but so did the Agricultural Research Service. In case you’re wondering if they are some elite special forces team you haven’t heard of —they’re not:

“Our job is finding solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table,” the ARS website proudly exclaims.

“In July 2020, the Air Force placed a large order for ‘Peloton Bicycles/Fitness Equipment’ in the amount of $33,366,” TMZ reports. “Unclear how many bikes were delivered specifically, but considering that the bikes are more than $1,000 a pop, ya gotta figure it was a bunch of them. Later in September, the Agricultural Research Service placed a Peloton bike order for another $26k worth of the bikes.”

But after Biden was sworn in, a noted Peloton enthusiast, orders spike (not blaming Joe for this one, just a reality of the numbers).

“Then, 2021 rolled around — when Biden took office — and it seems like the feds went Peloton crazy … ordering north of $96,000 worth of Peloton-related fitness equipment, but including a bunch of stuff from Precor Inc. — a big name in treadmills and exercise equipment that was acquired by Peloton back in December 2020.”

So far in 2022, the government has spent 64K on exercise equipment. Even overlooking the spend, we’re still left to consider the security concerns created by bikes with cameras and microphones connected to wireless networks —Biden couldn’t bring his to the White House!

Here’s the New York Times last year:

“Peloton tablets have built-in cameras and microphones that allow users to see and hear one another if they choose, and for Mr. Biden, therein lies the rub. The last thing the C.I.A. wants is the Russians and the Chinese peering or listening into the White House gymnasium. Last week, Popular Mechanics warned about the security risk under the headline ‘Why Joe Biden Can’t Bring His Peloton to the White House.’”

“Presidential security is always about balancing presidential needs and desires and the relative security risk of any single thing,” said Garrett Graff, the director of the cybersecurity initiative at the Aspen Institute, a research organization. “The threat is real, but it is presumably a manageable risk given enough thought and preparation.”

Manageable for the President, sure. But how about the folks in the CIA or Agricultural Research Services? Are they getting the same thorough cyber security treatment that Joe would have?

Doubt it.