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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Different take on multimodal commuting

Image of water bike in Seattle
From the Seattle Times, 01.22.08:

Commuting in the liquid lane
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.

Hong, 54, rides a regular bicycle a half-mile to the water, hops on his water bike for the 12- to 15-minute ride, and has another bicycle waiting for him at Illahee State Park in Bremerton. He rides up a steep hill to his job.

"I see a lot of wildlife. A baby seal pup came up right next to me. Winter birds on a calm day look like confetti strewn across the water. I have a wonderful view of Mount Rainier. I don't want to burn gas...I want to try to stay fit as I get older, and I like being outside. I have one of those jobs where I do way too much sitting, and this is a good antidote." (Read more.)
An intriguing article from Seattle, on two men who use waterbikes as part of their commute. Sounds great. Certainly not for everyone. But a clear demonstration that a commitment to self-powered transportation can overcome any obstacle.

Image: Seattle Times.
Visit: Bicycling on water?-all the power to them, Friday Flyer
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of an article I read last year about a DC-area man whose multimodal commute involves rowing on the Anacostia River and bicycling. Read the story.

Anonymous said...

My commute involves taking a train with my Montague folding bike and then riding for 6 miles to work. Not quite as exciting as this one but I at least get to save on gas and get a bit of a workout. I wish I could work in some boating as a part of my commute. hah.