冰上自行車(chē)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(chǎng)].

The bicycles on ice were an immediate hit. They glided[滑行] onto the ice at canalside[在運(yùn)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(duì)象] of the city.”

Instead， she is relishing[享受] being part of Buffalos efforts to revitalize[使……恢復(fù)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(bào)攤].

Florczaks family business is Water Bikes of Buffalo. It was renting pontoon[浮筒] bikes that let riders pedal[騎車(chē)] 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(lè)] 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(lèi)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(xiàn)成的] at Wal-Mart注. The bikes had to be sturdy[堅(jiān)固的]， not tip and co-exist with ice skaters. Prototype testing[樣機(jī)試驗(yàn)] 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(chē)] by pedaling backward.

“Its very neat[靈巧的]，” said Dave Wolf.“No sharp turns[急轉(zhuǎn)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(kāi)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(jìn)] 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(gè)在戶外溜冰場(chǎng)首次登臺(tái)的新型“冰上自行車(chē)”莫屬了。

冰上自行車(chē)一經(jīng)發(fā)布就大受歡迎。位于城市湖濱區(qū)的全新溜冰場(chǎng)開(kāi)放的那天，冰上自行車(chē)開(kāi)始在運(yùn)河邊上投入使用。

那是在12月份。自那時(shí)起，騎行者們忘卻了嚴(yán)寒，紛紛來(lái)租用這款新型自行車(chē)，這也使得其發(fā)明者麗莎·佛洛扎克確信此事大有可為。另外還有許多來(lái)自其他天氣寒冷的城市的人也向她詢問(wèn)冰上自行車(chē)。美國(guó)懷俄明州、密歇根州、明尼蘇達(dá)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(chē)。

“我不確定冰上自行車(chē)能否達(dá)到效果，也不清楚人們會(huì)作何評(píng)價(jià)，”佛洛扎克說(shuō)?！拔蚁胱约阂苍S最后會(huì)成為全城笑柄?！?/p>

而她樂(lè)于成為布法羅城的一分子，讓海濱地區(qū)再次煥發(fā)生機(jī)。這座城市一年四季都想吸引游客前來(lái)，盡管有時(shí)候伊利湖的風(fēng)讓人無(wú)福消受。冰上自行車(chē)讓那些不會(huì)滑冰的人有機(jī)會(huì)嘗試一下在冰面上滑行的感覺(jué)。周邊的報(bào)刊亭也會(huì)銷(xiāo)售暖暖的堅(jiān)果及熱可可。

布法羅的水上自行車(chē)是佛洛扎克的家族生意。在較溫暖的月份里，公司會(huì)出租浮筒自行車(chē)，讓騎手能夠在布法羅河上騎行。隨后，負(fù)責(zé)經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展規(guī)劃的官員們呼吁，要為開(kāi)發(fā)一個(gè)33000平方英尺（約3066平方米）的溜冰場(chǎng)征集創(chuàng)意想法。這個(gè)溜冰場(chǎng)就建在附近伊利運(yùn)河的一塊休閑區(qū)里。

“他們稱(chēng)溜冰場(chǎng)會(huì)建得非常大，他們還設(shè)想著除了溜冰，溜冰場(chǎng)還可以有其他用途?！狈鹇逶苏f(shuō)道。

冰壺、冰球以及其他類(lèi)似冰球運(yùn)動(dòng)的聯(lián)盟相繼出現(xiàn)了。

“我想，這是一個(gè)多么好的機(jī)會(huì)啊，從水上自行車(chē)發(fā)展到冰上自行車(chē)?！狈鹇逶苏f(shuō)。

佛洛扎克從沃爾瑪買(mǎi)了輛組裝好的自行車(chē)。自行車(chē)必須要堅(jiān)固、不易翻倒而且能和溜冰者共存。樣車(chē)測(cè)試表明鋒利的刀刃會(huì)像溜冰鞋一樣在冰上滑得過(guò)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(chē)。它的底部是一個(gè)矩形基座，前輪被一把較鈍的刀刃所替代。不銹鋼的構(gòu)造保證車(chē)輛不會(huì)因冰雪而生銹。他們騎起來(lái)和普通自行車(chē)并無(wú)不同，騎行者后蹬就可以剎車(chē)了。

“它十分靈巧，”戴夫·沃爾夫說(shuō)?！盁o(wú)需急轉(zhuǎn)彎。而且一旦你適應(yīng)了，它會(huì)是很棒的騎行經(jīng)歷?！彼f(shuō)天氣好的時(shí)候，他會(huì)去騎三輪車(chē)。他喜歡將冰上自行車(chē)作為冬天騎行另一選擇的想法。

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

注：即沃爾瑪公司，美國(guó)的世界性連鎖企業(yè)，以營(yíng)業(yè)額計(jì)算為全球最大的公司，其控股人為沃爾頓家族。