Abstract: A stand for maintaining a bicycle in an upright position, wherein the stand consists of non-movable parts comprising a base having a front end, a back end, and a middle portion, wherein each of the front end, back end and middle portion comprise at least one inclined member and wherein the inclined members are configured along an axis of the base that bisects the front and back ends and middle portion, and wherein the inclined members are positioned relative to each other and in a shape that allows the distal ends of the inclined members to be tangent to the circumference of the tire of one of the wheels of the bicycle and to contact different portions of the tire thereby holding the wheel in place and maintaining the bicycle in an upright position.

Abstract: A sports apparatus provides a variable resistance to a user. A resilient panel can be adjusted for custom resistance. The resilient panel is provided with pulleys and cables arranged to deflect the panel when a user provides a force on the cable. The user can transmit force to the resilient panel by attaching a suitable exercise implement to the cable. The resilient can also be arranged as required by the type of exercise and for convenience.

Abstract: A set of flatware including a plurality of flatware pieces of a plurality of utensil types, with each flatware piece having formed thereon a word selected from a group of predetermined words. The flatware pieces are sufficient in number to form a predetermined number of place settings at which the flatware pieces within each utensil type are randomly distributed for forming random combinations of the selected words at each of the place settings. The words of the group may be selected to foster conversation among the users of the set of flatware.