Exercise equipment information, communication and display system

An information, communication and display system for use with a plurality of exercise machines for the purpose of permitting the machines to be raced against one another, comprising:

• input means for each exercise machine for accepting race input data;
• memory means for storing programs and data;
• main control means, responsive to said input means and said programs stored in said memory means, for controlling a simulated race between two or more exercise machines, generating graphic images of said race, and calculating race data including elapsed time, distance and calories consumed;
• display means for displaying said graphic images including an indication of the location of each of the racers, and for displaying data including said race input data and said race data;
• receiving means for each exercise machine for receiving data from said main control means;
• and
• means for interconnecting and transmitting data between said main control means and said receiving means of each of the exercise machines using a broadcast, which includes the elapsed time of said race, to prepare each exercise machine for a subsequent poll for data from said machine, and a polling cycle divided into a plurality of time slots corresponding to time-driven interrupts generated by said main control means, with a time-slot assigned to each exercise machine during which said main control means polls each respective exercise machine and receives data from said machine.