Made by Honda and to be launched in 2010, this bicycle 'real life' road-test simulator is just like the rocket simulators used by astronauts ... only not as intense, exhilarating, challenging, interesting or entertaining.

What this simulator is, though, is instructive, a new high tech device to enhance bicycle safety -- by giving old and new cyclers the chance to live out their stupid, reckless bicycling fantasies on a computer screen rather than on the crowded streets where cars, buses and pedestrians pose regular threats.

The number of cyclists has increased dramatically in recent years and is projected to continue to grow. Learning the difference between a stop and yield sign, basic rights of way, and other fundamentals of the road (e.g., whether to grab onto that bus next to you or wait for the motorcycle coming up from behind to get that free cruising transport) is critical.