Of all the office-bound transportation options I’ve heard–from carpooling to commuting to biking–I gotta say that I love this option the best: riding a water bike to work.
Nat Hong and Bob Barrett commute on Puget Sound by bike — water bike, that is — to their jobs in Bremerton and Steilacoom.
“This is pretty hard to beat in terms of a pleasant commute,” said Hong, who lives on Bainbridge Island and teaches at Olympic College in Bremerton.
The drive would be 80 miles round trip. But with his water bike, the trip to work is just 12 miles — including one mile on the water.
The two use a Hydrobike for their ride. It doesn’t come cheap, but imagine all the money you could save anyway by not driving a car.
I love the concept. It’s totally perfect for people who really can significantly slash their commute time by cutting across a body of water, and those who actually have a body of water near their homes in the first place. Sure, you have to exert more effort than sitting behind the wheel as usual, but think of all the pounds you’ll lose! Plus, there’s probably no chance of you getting stuck in traffic, eh?
Photo by Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times
Leave a Reply