'Idea came in a dream' - Floating bicycle hire on Broads
Floating bike firm Buoyancy Bikes is coming to Wroxham. - Credit: Supplied by Laura Calver
A start-up hire firm on the Norfolk Broads is soon to give a whole new definition to the phrase 'off-road cycling'.
Laura Calver, 31, and her husband Simon, 35, are launching Buoyancy Bikes, based in Wroxham.
The bicycles are mounted on two hard-shelled floats, pedal powered and by the handlebars, which control a fin below the waterline.
Mrs Calver said the idea came in a flash of subconscious inspiration.
She said: "My husband woke up one day and said 'I wonder if you can get a water bike on the Broads?' He says it came to him in a dream."
You may also want to watch:
Mrs Calver said they had only heard of one other business which might be hiring out floating bikes in London, but other than that she thought the concept was new to the UK.
She said: "The Broads Authority told us there was something very similar back in the 1990s but it never really took off. So as far as we're aware, it's just us."
Most Read
- 1 People queue at Norwich Primark an hour before 7am reopening
- 2 Woman found dead in country park is named
- 3 'We haven't slept': Primark shoppers queue outside city store from 3am
- 4 Boss puts Queen Anne family home up for sale for £1.325m
- 5 Eight pints pulled in first three minutes as pub's 'happy hour' returns
- 6 Hospital's walk-in vaccine clinic suspended after poor attendance
- 7 Boss says sorry for fake worker's 'vile' comments about Prince Philip
- 8 Town's country park remains closed after woman's body discovered
- 9 Couple sell 'amazing' converted water mill after two-year renovation
- 10 Lanes closed after lorry hits A47 central reservation
The couple live in Sprowston and Mr Culver also runs a firm called Anglian Metal Roofing.
They currently have five of the bikes, which are made in China, and hope to be operating 15 within a couple of months. They are each designed for a single rider with a maximum weight of 120kg, and a minimum height of 140cms.
Mrs Culver said they would be rented for £25 per hour.
She said bookings for the bikes, which would be available from April 24, had already "gone crazy" and they were looking forward to a busy summer season. She said riding the bikes, which had a top speed of around 5mph, was "relaxing".
"We're just around the corner from Bridge Broad. It's a nice and sheltered area and there's not too much traffic. There's some lovely wildlife down there - we've already seen a kingfisher.
"It's a really relaxed way to see the Broads and it's not scary at all. They're very sturdy, you can't tip them.
"You're not going to be able to go as quickly as you can on a normal bike."