Hydrobikes by Fun Watercraft introduces the HydroBike

I cant remember the gentleman that ordered my hydrobike for me via the phone,
but I have had it since about October 2007 and want to tell him that he was right. I
cant get enough of it. I dont walk anymore for exercise. I gave up dodging cars and took
to the water. I have lost weight and am in better shape than ever at age 45. I did
change out the seat to make it more lady friendly (just a rectangular flat seat). I ride
almost daily for about an hour and am now riding to an island on the lake and watching a
pair of great blue herons build a nest and hoepefully raise a family too! Thanks and if
you need me to write you a formal testimony, I would be happy too. I get lots of people
stopping wanting info on them and know of two on Lake Murray that I am responsible for.
I would suggest that the handle bars come with padding or arm supports to rest on for a
different position other than upright.
Thank you for a great product!

Lynne Branham

Steve & Ken’s EXCELLENT ADVENTURE. A Hydrobike ride from the Gulf of Mexico UP the Mississippi River to St. Cloud, Minnesota.Let’s start at the beginning of the beginning.

In 1972 Steve Anderson and his brother Bruce rode bicycles from St. Paul, Minnesota, 1500 miles to Pensacola, Florida.

In 1982 Steve Anderson and Ken Rogers rode bicycles 10,280 miles to all 48 contiguous United States from July 20^th, 1982 arriving back in Minnesota on February 5^th of 1983. Ken has recently published a book about the trip. Check it out at http://www.pedalingonpurpose.com/. Steve turned 30 years old during that trip and he and Ken shook hands and vowed that when they were somewhere in their 40’s they would attempt another adventure.

Well, Here is how the Mississippi River started, told by Steve himself.

I was a fastener salesman ( basically selling stainless steel nuts and bolts ) for 13 years. One day in the early spring of 1993 I saw a Hydrobike being demonstrated on a lake close to my home in Minneapolis, Mn. Being the good fastener salesman that I was, my eyes went directly to the nuts, bolts and screws used on a Hydrobike and I could see that they were stainless steel so I grabbed a brochure just to get their address so that I could possibly sell them some screws.

After reviewing the brochure and checking out the bike a little more, I noticed it was propeller driven, and for some weird reason I remembered my hand shake with my best friend and biking partner, Ken Rogers, and either an angel or a demon whispered in my ear ,” Hey, Maybe this could be your next adventure. Something on water instead of roads.”

A couple weeks later I was in the offices of Hydrobikes, Inc talking to the inventor of the bike, Ray Buresch. He wasn’t convinced that my stainless fasteners AT ALL, but he was interested in me.

Ten years prior to this meeting he had been a regular listener to the radio station Ken and I would call into every week (KSTP AM 1500). He knew all about our 10,000 mile bicycle trip.

Ray and his sales staff had just had a sales meeting the week before my call on him and the main subject of the meeting was a publicity stunt to set a record going DOWN the Mississippi River and if this was a good idea , who should they get to do it. EUREKA!!!! I am now standing right in front of him. He asked on that very day if I would be interested in setting this record and here was my response, ” Sure, But do you think these Hydrobikes could make it UP the river?” HOLY COW, that was all it took. Ray was excited and from that day forward to the day that Ken and I started riding on July 4^th of 1994 ,it is a story all in itself of all the things that had to come together before Ken and I could leave. ( For instance, Ken had to lose some weight. He was probably hoping I had forgotten the hand shake. ) Ken and I had to get leaves of absence from our jobs. (Talk about having to use sales skills when you have to ask the president of a national company for a leave of absence to take a Hydrobike trip)

Ken is in the process of writing about this trip. I think you will find the story to be very inspiring, scary, incredibly adventurous, and just a very good story of some real good buddies who set another spiritually and physically challenging goal.

I will try to keep updating this page to give you some glimpses of the trip itself. We went through, not around, every lock and dam in the whole Mississippi River system. Wait till I tell you about what we had to demonstrate on our Hydrobikes just so the lock masters would let us through.

Anyway, we’ll be talking and please check out our book on http://www.pedalingonpurpose.com/.

Thanks, Steve Anderson, FunWatercraft, Hydrobikes

Hi Ray;

We’re loving our pair of bikes and not only getting lots exercise, but interest in them.  They are even the #1 toy for the kids, after waterskiing/tubing, too. The adrenaline activities are hard to compete with. When we go on our outings with more than 2 people, we tow either a surfboard or a kayak behind them and although this is a little slow going, it is still easier than anyone paddling for any length of time.  One trip, we had a bike towing 2 kayaks end to end for a couple of miles and that drew some attention!  We haven’t tried them in the Columbia River yet or to rescue a windsurfer, but I’ll let you know more when we try them there.

 I forgot to ask you for the “Bike on Water” referral cards, but could use some 

Also, your customer in Tacoma called to follow up with us, but I waited too long and the voicemail dropped the message (and I can’t find his number from before).  If you could forward this message to him, I would appreciate it.  I really enjoyed visiting with him and he was VERY helpful!

Thanks & have a great summer!
 
Tina Elderkin - Sammamish, WA 

We operate a day camp that services approximately 425 children. We are located on a large three mile long lake and have an extensive waterfront program. Our boating program contains at least 60 boats, eight of which are your magnificent hydrobikes.

We purchased the hydrobikes about four years ago and have been watching our campers enjoy them ever since. The quality of your workmanship is evident by their almost flawless operation during the pass four years. Your technical support for minor repairs and yearly maintenance has been more than we expected. Our phone calls are returned promptly and our questions answered so we can understand them.

Please go to our website at http://www.daycampinthepark.com/ and view our photo gallery to see the hydrobikes in action.

Thanks again for another great camp activity!
 
Stuart Fliesser - Operations Manager Day Camp In The Park - Lake Tiorati, NY      

Dear Ray,

Here’s a little information I thought you might find interesting about the fleet of Hydro-Bikes on the water at Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta. If a picture is work a thousand words, than these should tell  quite a story.

At the time of this writing, there are 21 Hydro-Bikes down at the park.  The staff and management of this facility are very happy with the performance and durability of these bikes.

Not only have these turned out to be a low to zero maintenance unit, they  have proved to be quite an income generator. The attached figures show a history for their original purchase of six bikes and projections for  the addition to their fleet.

Their peek rental day so far was about three weeks ago. At that time they  had only 16 bikes on the water available to rent (the other five we not yet assembled) and had over 200 rentals for the day. At $5.00 per rental, that brought in over $1,000.00 for that day alone.

The exposure that these bikes are giving us and Hydro-Bikes is priceless.  I have received many calls from all parts of the country and Canada inquiring about the purchase of Hydro-Bikes. As the Olympics draw near, this exposure is only going to increase. Who knows, this could become an Olympic Event!

Say HI to the gang over there for me. I’ll be talking to you soon.

Sincerely,
 
Thomas R. Mohr 

Mr. Dean Dversdall,

Good Morning. This is an unsolicited testimonial to that wonderful Bike you folks make! It has given me more outdoor pleasure than words can ever express.

I’m too darned old now (77) to spend much time sitting down in a little, cramped fishing boat- getting up and out of that seat after a few hours was really almost comical! Was it the end of my fishing days? Fate led me to serial number SN 0089xxxx and I actually have a new “lease on life”, at least as far as fishing enjoyment is concerned.

I have made some modifications for local conditions, some storage pouches, rod holders, anchorage line (a dog leash), etc. Only major change was adding a set of 12″ wheels, removeable or reversable, for transporting it where no shore access is available. Last year I sent photos of wheels, etc., to Beverly Sellers. They work fine!

As mentioned on the phone, Dean, I personally feel your Hydro-Bike is an exceptionally well-made design, and the fabrication is of the very highest quality. I’ve always been a critical guy, but you leave me without words - other than words of praise. Thanks for my Hydro-Bike!

Kindest Regards,
 
Stan Estes - Port Angeles, Washington    

On March 10, 1999, I suffered a heart attack. As part of my recovery regiment my physician advised me to join a gym. So for spring, summer, and fall, there I was walking away on a treadmill. Excercising on the treadmill in the winter isn’t so bad. Come spring, I asked myself, “there has got to be something I can excercise on & enjoy that will get me outside.” That something turned out to be the “Hydro-Bike.” I’m sure I drove the salesperson nuts. I live in Virginia and I was contacting the sales office at least once a day for a week with questions I thought important before I invested in this item. My questions included: was the material of good quality; was the chain weather/water resistant; and, were parts readily available. Stability on the water was a big question.I purchased my Hydro-Bike in May 2000. Best investment I ever made. I use the Hydro-Bike for 2 hours/day, whenever I can, weather permitting. The cardiovascular excercise is wonderful to say nothing of the strength you build in your legs. The Hydro-Bike can handle any wake/wave the inboard/outboard motor boats create. Then, in 2003, I purchased another Hydro-Bike so I’d have company when exercising. I have no problem acquiring an exercise companion.

Randy Damren 

I have never written a testimonial before. This machine has made such a difference in my life that I am glad to share my experience publicly. It will be two years, the first of June, since I have started riding my HydroBike. I have logged over 1400 miles to date (April 28th 2003). It is a part of my daily commute. I live on an island in Puget Sound and travel just about 2 miles one way. I ride year around which puts me in all kinds of weather and sea conditions. I am truly amazed at the stability of this small craft. I have taken on 3 ft. swells and 30 m.p.h. gusts of wind and still felt safe.

I tell people that I have a life time guarantee on the motor. The motor (ME) gets a good aerobic workout and gets me to work. This allows me to spend my money in other ways besides workout facilities, outboard motors, oil, and gas. I think this also helps preserve the quality of Puget Sound by not putting gas, oil, and noise into this vital body of water. Traveling at 3-5 mph I am able to enjoy the Sound in a way that I can not when I am in a motor boat traveling at 25-30 mph. There is an interaction of natural forces and my energy that allows me to become a part of my surroundings. This little machine has also given me local identity. I am known as “that crazy guy that rides a bike on the water”. It has also become an icebreaker. I am not sure of the value because I am a fairly private person. However, in the field of social interaction I do like that I am able to allow almost anyone willing to get on it a chance to ride it. In the age range of 7 to 70. With a motor boat it would not be practical to let just anyone take off with your boat. These are the reasons that I feel the HydroBike has made a difference in my life.

R.Barrett of WA

Picture Lake Campground
Attention: Louis
7818 Boydton Plank Road
Petersburg, VA 23803

Dear Louis,

I am taking this opportunity to introduce you to a revolutionary watercraft that resorts and rental operations all over the world have found to be very safe, profitable, and practically maintenance free.

The Hydro-Bikes, Inc. Explorer I and Explorer II are propeller driven watercraft which utilize advanced aeronautical engineering design principles to make them the most sought after watercraft you can provide for your customers. They’re FUN for guests of all ages and they’re proven money makers.

I’ve enclosed our brochure so you can make a quick assessment of the Explorer’s merits and will follow up with a telephone call in a few days. Please contact me or Becky Hall, my assistant, if you have any immediate questions on how the Hydro-Bike’s Explorers can increase your revenue or if you would like a demonstration ride.

Thank you for your attention,

Robert E. Lynch - Sales Manager

ST. JOSEPH’S HOPE COMMUNITY NEWS
Pedaling Upstream Requires Support

The Hydro-Bikes Mississippi River Trip and St. Joseph’s HOPE Community
In May, St. Joe’s was approached by Steve Anderson, who planned to ride a new kind of water bike, a Hydro-Bike, 2400 miles UP the Mississippi from it’s delta to it’s source in Northern Minnesota. Steve wanted to know if we were interested in becoming the charity that receives the pledges he and his fellow biker, Ken Rogers, planned to generate on the three month trip. Steve and Ken had raised $25,000 for Make-A-Wish Minnesota back in 1982 by riding “regular” bikes through each of the 48 contiguous states. They had a great time the first time and were anxious for another adventure. Raising money for a favorite charity was of primary importance to them, so they were at our door (after being turned down by two other charities, because the logistics for approval and participation were insurmountable).

Here at St. Joe’s we are used to being flexible, dealing with uncertainty and taking risks, so it was a perfect match. With St. Joe’s and the Hydro-Bike Company to back them up, they set out from the Gulf of Mexico on July 4, 1994. The following is my reflective account of their story and our story of “pedaling upstream.” My first indication that this was not going to be just another “pledge ride” was when I heard the first 50 miles of river was inhabited by sharks! Steve remained unimpressed by the fact, but I figured if sharks were in that river down there, it was a very different river from the one we have up here. We joked and passed it off and got on with our meeting at the Hydro-Bike headquarters. The immediacy of the last minute preparations claimed our attention. It was reminiscent of the times at St. Joe’s when we have focused our energy on necessities of the moment and have missed the enormous consequences inherent in our work.At St. Joe’s we too frenetically prepared ourselves for the pledges, getting a special phone arrangement to handle the volume of calls that we expected when WCCO radio (830 AM) broadcast the story. So far we’ve gotten only a handful of calls, plus some welcome fax pledges, for a total as of July 22 of $1,724 ($1,200 of which is from our friend).

Deanna Foster