Can’t surf because there’s no ocean nearby? Can’t wakeboard because you don’t have a boat? If you have access to a river, good news for you, now you can enjoy the new water sport called Riverboarding.

How does it work? The Riverboard is connected to a long bungee cord. With the bungee cord hooked up to something stable such as a tree or a rock, you get in the river with the board, and let the the current carry you down stream. The current pulls you back and stretches the bungee cord. When the bungee cord is extended, it slingshots the rider upstream. The bungee cord can shoot a rider upstream at speeds of up to 30 mph. The more you extend the bungee cord (it can extend up to 200 feet), the faster you will shoot upstream.

For more about Riverboarding check out the Banshee Riverboards web site.

The Manta Ray was available a couple years ago, but after so many people hurt themselves (and even died) using these flying inner tubes, they were pretty much banned from the U.S.

I guess tubing was meant to stay on the water.

Around 2005 Wego released a kite tube that would fly in the air with the rider on it.  By 2006 Wego stopped selling it, because too many people hurt themselves, and a couple of people died using it.

On the tube it warned, “don’t go higher than you are willing to fly.” They even had a giant skull and crossbones on the tube.  

Video of the Wego Kit Tube in Action

I read many comments by many people who had used one of these say that the trick was to have the driver ease up on the throttle when the tube went in the air, otherwise, something like above would happen.

The Waterball is a giant ball made of transparent plastic. A person gets in it, has the Waterball inflated, gets zipped inside, and then goes out on the water to float, lay or roll around like crazy.

One question I had about the Waterball was, how long until you run out of air? The answer is, don’t stay zipped in there for longer than 30 minutes.

Looks like it would be fun to try, but then, at the same time, it looks tormenting.

Take a look at what I mean…

The AquaSkipper isn’t exactly a bike. The AquaSkipper steers like a bike, but instead of pedaling to move forward, the rider jumps up and down.

The frame of the AquaSkipper is made of light aircraft aluminum. The whole thing only weighs 26 lbs, and can be assembled and disassembled easily.

What keeps the bike floating? The hydrofoil blades underneath the AquaSkipper keep it above water, while the rider jumping up and down propels it across the water.

The AquaSkipper is faster than other human powered watercraft. It can go as fast as 17 mph.

Video of the AquaSkipper in Action

Aquaskipper / Aqua Skipper / Hydrofoil / Watersport US $305.00 (11 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jul-10-2008 15:47:05 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Meet the Bike-Yak. It’s a combination of a Kayak and a Bike, and it’s made entirely from parts saved from a landfill. If global warming causes a 10 foot increase in sea level, serious flooding would occur in low lying areas.

The Bike-Yak could be one possible mode of transportation for areas that may become flooded due to global warming.

How would you like to slide down a huge slide, hit a ramp, and be launched into the air over a lake?