冰上自行車讓冬天不再寒冷

If it were possible for anything to be hot in Buffalo， N.Y. this winter， it was the newfangled[新流行的]“ice bikes” that debuted at an outdoor skating rink[滑冰場].

The bicycles on ice were an immediate hit. They glided[滑行] onto the ice at canalside[在運河邊上的] the day the new rink opened on the citys waterfront.

That was in December. Since then， riders who have ignored the breath-taking[驚人的] cold to rent them have convinced inventor Lisa Florczak that shes onto something. And there were inquiries from several other cold-weather cities. Localities in Wyoming， Michigan， Minnesota and Canada are interested in rolling them out[首次展示] next year.

“I had no idea if this would work or how people would respond，” Florczak said. “I thought I might end up being the laughingstock[嘲笑的對象] of the city.”

Instead， she is relishing[享受] being part of Buffalos efforts to revitalize[使……恢復生氣] its waterfront. The city wants to draw people yearround[一年到頭]， even when the Lake Erie breeze is something more endured[忍耐] than enjoyed. The bikes give even non-skaters a chance to try out the ice. There are also warm nuts and hot cocoa sold at nearby kiosks[報攤].

Florczaks family business is Water Bikes of Buffalo. It was renting pontoon[浮筒] bikes that let riders pedal[騎車] the Buffalo River in warmer months. Then economic development officials put out a call for ideas for a 33，000-square-foot ice rink. It was being built nearby on a recreation[娛樂] area of the Erie Canal.

“They said the ice is going to be pretty large. And they thought they might need something more than just skating，” Florczak said.

Curling[冰壺]， hockey and broomball[類似曲棍球的游戲] leagues emerged.

“I thought： ‘What a perfect opportunity to go from water biking to ice biking，”Florczak said.

She bought a bike off the rack[現成的] at Wal-Mart注. The bikes had to be sturdy[堅固的]， not tip and co-exist with ice skaters. Prototype testing[樣機試驗] showed that sharper blades[刀刃]， like on ice skates， were too fast， as were flat[扁平的] blades that worked like a ski.

The finished product is a 26-inch bike. It sits on a rectangular[矩形的] base with a duller[鈍的] blade replacing the front wheel. Stainless steel[不銹鋼] ensures that they dont rust[生銹] in the snow. They ride like a regular bicycle. Riders brake[剎車] by pedaling backward.

“Its very neat[靈巧的]，” said Dave Wolf.“No sharp turns[急轉彎]. And once you get used to it， its a pretty nice ride.” Wolf said he rode a three-wheel bike in the nice weather and liked the idea of a winter alternative.

The inaugural[開始的] year had 15 bikes on the ice on weekends， with riders paying$10 for a half-hour turn. There are plans to sell kits[裝備] that will let people turn their own bicycles for about $1，500 and the company is hoping for orders from other cities that will make for[促進] a busy “off season[淡季].”

如果今年冬天紐約布法羅城要有一股熱潮的話，那便非這個在戶外溜冰場首次登臺的新型“冰上自行車”莫屬了。

冰上自行車一經發布就大受歡迎。位于城市湖濱區的全新溜冰場開放的那天，冰上自行車開始在運河邊上投入使用。

那是在12月份。自那時起，騎行者們忘卻了嚴寒，紛紛來租用這款新型自行車，這也使得其發明者麗莎·佛洛扎克確信此事大有可為。另外還有許多來自其他天氣寒冷的城市的人也向她詢問冰上自行車。美國懷俄明州、密歇根州、明尼蘇達州以及加拿大的人們都有興趣在明年展示下這款新型自行車。

“我不確定冰上自行車能否達到效果，也不清楚人們會作何評價，”佛洛扎克說?！拔蚁胱约阂苍S最后會成為全城笑柄?！?/p>

而她樂于成為布法羅城的一分子，讓海濱地區再次煥發生機。這座城市一年四季都想吸引游客前來，盡管有時候伊利湖的風讓人無福消受。冰上自行車讓那些不會滑冰的人有機會嘗試一下在冰面上滑行的感覺。周邊的報刊亭也會銷售暖暖的堅果及熱可可。

布法羅的水上自行車是佛洛扎克的家族生意。在較溫暖的月份里，公司會出租浮筒自行車，讓騎手能夠在布法羅河上騎行。隨后，負責經濟發展規劃的官員們呼吁，要為開發一個33000平方英尺（約3066平方米）的溜冰場征集創意想法。這個溜冰場就建在附近伊利運河的一塊休閑區里。

“他們稱溜冰場會建得非常大，他們還設想著除了溜冰，溜冰場還可以有其他用途?！狈鹇逶苏f道。

冰壺、冰球以及其他類似冰球運動的聯盟相繼出現了。

“我想，這是一個多么好的機會啊，從水上自行車發展到冰上自行車?！狈鹇逶苏f。

佛洛扎克從沃爾瑪買了輛組裝好的自行車。自行車必須要堅固、不易翻倒而且能和溜冰者共存。樣車測試表明鋒利的刀刃會像溜冰鞋一樣在冰上滑得過快，而鈍的刀刃則如同雪橇一般。

最后的成品是一輛26英寸的自行車。它的底部是一個矩形基座，前輪被一把較鈍的刀刃所替代。不銹鋼的構造保證車輛不會因冰雪而生銹。他們騎起來和普通自行車并無不同，騎行者后蹬就可以剎車了。

“它十分靈巧，”戴夫·沃爾夫說?！盁o需急轉彎。而且一旦你適應了，它會是很棒的騎行經歷?！彼f天氣好的時候，他會去騎三輪車。他喜歡將冰上自行車作為冬天騎行另一選擇的想法。

第一年會有15輛冰上自行車在周末投入使用，騎行者支付10美元就可以騎行半小時。公司計劃銷售零件，讓顧客花1500美元后就可以把自己的自行車改裝成冰上自行車。公司還希望其他城市也能購入這種冰上自行車，這樣有助于讓原本的騎行“淡季”變得興旺起來。

注：即沃爾瑪公司，美國的世界性連鎖企業，以營業額計算為全球最大的公司，其控股人為沃爾頓家族。