Hydrobikes by Fun WaterCraft

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

Dear Robert,

We would like to tell you about one of our HydroBikes that was stolen from us in early September, 1996. We have a small fleet of bikes on the Gold Coast here in Australia where we operate off the beach. It would seem that three of our bikes were removed late one night, taken to a sand bank where someone started to disassemble them. We think they were interrupted so they threw the frame into the ocean and left the floats, side decks, and the other two bikes to drift away with the tide. The next day only the two complete bikes and two floats were found.

We made a claim on our insurance and thought that was the end of the matter. Not so. Three and a half months later we were informed that the bike frame had been found. It was covered with barnacles and looked as if it was ready for the scrap heap. The insurance company asked if we wanted to buy the frame for $100 Australian. We thought we may be able to use it for spare parts so we purchased from them. I then used a pressure water cleaner to remove the barnacles and was very surprised to see that the crank and peddles still turned. I removed the oil to see if any water had gotten into the leg (drivetrain) and was happy to see that not a drop of water had gotten in. This frame may have the white marks from the base of the barnacles on the paint work, and look a little worse for wear but everything else works as good as the day it was put together.

We now use this bike for our own personal use… …So, to everyone at HydroBike I wish to say thank you for a job well done for a great product.

Sincerely,

Paul Corn

Sun Hydro-Bikes, Inc., is a very exciting beach concession/rental operation. Since we opened in June of 1995, the response has been greater than we ever imagined. Our busiest days are weekends. We currently have ten doubles and twelve single bikes available and sometimes there is a waiting list for people wanting to rent bikes.

People often are repeat renters. They laugh, give the thumbs up sign, and show ease and enjoyment when riding the bikes. Not only are Hydro-Bikes fun, but they need minimal maintenance and are quite durable. We rarely have to deal with problems associated with the bikes and never have to deal with “down time”.

Finally, the most intriguing and wonderful aspect is the revenue which this business generates. On a good day, the returns can vary anywhere from $800 to $1,400 dollars!

We are very happy with the operations and revenue of Sun Hydro-Bikes, Inc. To put it simply, people love the watercraft and there is a growing group that come to the beach on a regular basis simply to ride the bikes. The day-to-day activities are enjoyable and it is great watching the business grow before our eyes.

Sincerely,

Owen Barrett - President - Sun Hydro-Bikes