The daily commute can be a grind. But ELLIE PRINGLE meets one man who has found the perfect way to beat the rush hour blues
Next time you find yourself stuck in traffic along Riverside Road on your way to work, there is every chance you might see Ricardo Sobral Santos glide past on his paddleboard on route to the office.
The 31-year-old has been commuting in this unusual manner in recent weeks - complete with his briefcase fastened firmly onboard.
He makes the daily 3.5km journey from his home, near Carrow Road, to St James Mill, stopping along the way to pick up floating litter.
The journey takes between 30-35 minutes, depending on the river currents and how much wind there is. 'It's really enjoyable. It's a good work-out too,' he added.
Mr Santos has been undertaking the commute to raise money for charity, and is now reaching the end of his 31 day target, with almost £600 raised for Cancer Research so far.
'This cause is close to me as I, like many others, have lost several close family members to cancer,' he added.
'I also use the river commute as an opportunity to collect floating rubbish such as plastic bottles, coffee cups, beer cans and other interesting things on my way home from work,' he said. On one trip home he picked out five coffee cups from the river.
But as the nights draw in, the task is getting tougher.
'Since the end of October, the days are getting colder,' Mr Santos said. 'The river is full of leaves which annoyingly get stuck on my board fin, making it hard to steer.'
It's not stopping him though and by the end of the challenge he will have paddled 110km through Norwich.
Alongside paddleboarding to work, the tech worker is also growing a beard for Cancer Research.
If you'd like to see Mr Santos in action, you can spot him on the river going towards St James Mill at around 8am. Alternatively, look out for him coming back down the river at 5 or 6pm.
•To support Mr Santos visit https://www.justgiving.com/rivercommuting/
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