BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – If it were possible for anything to be hot in Buffalo this winter, it was the newfangled “ice bikes” that debuted at an outdoor skating rink.
The bicycles on ice skates were an immediate hit when they glided onto the Ice at Canalside the day the new rink opened on the city’s waterfront.
Since that December day, the bundled riders who have ignored breath-taking cold to rent them have convinced inventor Lisa Florczak that she’s onto something. That, and the inquiries from several other cold-weather cities in Wyoming, Michigan, Minnesota and Canada interested in rolling them out next year.
“I had no idea if this would work or how people would respond,” Florczak said on a recent afternoon as some Parkinson’s patients tested the bikes for their exercise potential. “I thought I might end up being the laughingstock of the city.”
Instead, she is relishing being part of Buffalo’s efforts to revitalize its waterfront and draw people year-round, even when the Lake Erie breeze is something more endured than enjoyed. The bikes give even nonskaters a chance to try out the ice, along with the warm nuts, hot cocoa and craft beer sold at nearby kiosks.