Hit the river on a bike

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Sure, you can ride a bike along the river thanks to Tampa’s expanded Riverwalk. But you can also ride a bike on the river itself, thanks to the Tampa Bay Water Bike Company.

The water bikes are just what they sound like, FOX 13’s Tyler Eliasen found out Monday.

“It really is just a bike frame on a couple of floats,” he observed from the water.  “It’s incredibly stable; you can stand up, you can bounce back and forth, you don’t have to worry about falling in.”

Tampa Bay Water Bike Company has been renting the devices from their location by the convention center for four years.  Company owner Dan Fleischbein explained that he was inspired to work along the river.

“I spent my time in the Air Force; I was on the water every day,” he said as he pedaled.  “When I got out, I did work in an office and I was working not far from here overlooking this area and one day I was actually reading an article about this guy who commutes to work on a water bike and I thought, ‘Hey that would be really cool in this area.’”

The bikes allow users to enjoy a view of downtown Tampa that was previously only available to boaters and kayakers, but they are more accessible. If you can bike, Fleischbein says, you can water bike.

“If you want to pedal the entire time, you can.  If you want to just coast and let the current take you, you can just pedal a little bit to straighten yourself out; not a problem,” he continued.  “You can do as much or as little work as you like.  It’s super easy, super stable. It’s a lot of fun.”

LINK: For more information and to make reservations, visit www.tampawaterbikes.com