From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stationary Bike
Stationary Bike
"Stationary Bike" a trance when he rides, and seems to enter the mysteri-
ous landscape as he does.
Author Stephen King When Richard goes back to his doctor, he finds that
Country United States his cholesterol levels have dropped to safe levels. He is
pleased, and tries to stop exercising, but cannot resist the
Language English
lure of the stationary bike. Richard even goes so far as to
Genre(s) Horror try dismantling the machine, but he suddenly finds him-
self riding on the bike "one last time".
Published in From the Borderlands,
Just After Sunset When Richard goes on this ride, he finds himself on
the road of his mural once more - face to face with the
Publication type Anthology three remaining workmen on the crew. They speak to
Publisher Scribner him, accusing him of ruining their lives; without a stream
of fatty foods, they have stopped receiving income for
Media type Hardcover
their work. The workmen list their expenses, and explain
Publication date 2003 that their fellow member committed suicide out of des-
peration. Richard realizes that the men are conglomera-
"Stationary Bike is a novella written by Stephen King,
Stationary Bike" tions of people he has met before in life, and tries to tell
which was originally published in the fifth edition of them that they are nothing but imaginary figures. Their
From the Borderlands in 2003. It was recently released as pleas and threats of violence, though, convince him oth-
part of King’s 2008 short story anthology, Just After Sunset. erwise. Richard agrees to relax his diet, but makes one
request - he wants a cap that the workmen wear. As he
Synopsis steps back through the mural, he begins to wonder when
he will convince himself that the strange experience was
The story opens with Richard Sifkitz, a commercial artist all a dream.
and widower, visiting his doctor, and staring at the re- The story jumps forward to a few weeks later. Richard
sults of his physical. Richard’s cholesterol is dangerously now eats dessert and has finally escaped the bike. When
high, largely due to his high fast food intake. The doctor his mail comes one afternoon, he sees a package which
tells him an interesting anecdote in relation to the num- contains a baseball cap with the word "LIPID" written on
ber. He likens Richard’s metabolism to a team of work- it. He smiles as he dons the cap and prepares to go to
men who clear the various junk foods that Richard in- work painting.
gests. As Richard ages, these metabolic workmen tire out
and begin to slow down, resulting in heart trouble. This
metaphor strikes Richard, and he becomes rather ob-
Film Adaptation
sessed with the idea. In 2011/12 film producers, Random Download Produc-
Richard becomes determined to lose weight, and sets tions will be adapting the story into a short-film of which
up a stationary bike in his basement. At first, he hangs a more details can be found at their website. [1]
map of the United States on the wall, imagining himself
traveling to a foreign destination with each mile. As time
passes, though, the notion of the metabolic workmen en-
Audiobook
ter his mind again, and he paints a bizarre landscape on An audio book version, read by Ron McLarty, was adapted
a mural, depicting four tired workers clearing a fat-laden from Stephen King’s work "Stationary Bike" and released
road. Richard begins to lose weight, but as he does, he be- on CD in June 2006.
gins to see the workmen in his dreams. He is then gripped
by another vision, in which he paints the garage of the
youngest of his metabolic workmen, who has committed
See also
suicide. These events cause the mural Richard has paint- • Short fiction by Stephen King
ed to transform, warping into a more nightmarish ap-
pearance with every passing day. Despite these warning External links
signs, though, Richard cannot stop exercising; he enters
• King’s official site
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stationary Bike
• "Stationary Bike" at King’s official site
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stationary_Bike&oldid=462043048"
Categories:
• 2003 short stories
• Horror short stories
• Short stories by Stephen King
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