Walking on water may be the stuff of miracles. But thanks to one Hamilton man, biking on water is now a reality.
Guy Howard-Willis, the founder of Kiwi cycling company Torpedo7, has turned his dream into a market-ready product and now he's preparing to take it to the world.
"I've cycled all my life. I love road cycling and mountain biking, I love water sports, love swimming. So putting these two things together wasn't particularly hard to do," Mr Howard-Willis says.
He says everyone has ideas but the hard part was implementing his idea and finding someone that could help design and produce it.
"I've come from that sort of background of actually developing stuff but this idea, I really wanted to make work. I wasn't sure if it would but the vision I had back then, to where we've got to today, is far advanced.
"I think what the bike does now, nearly 20 kilometres per hour, and we're going to go faster," Howard-Willis says.
It's a project which was more than 7 years in the making and at the helm has been bike designer Roland Alonzo, who was initially reluctant to climb on board.
"I can't swim, I don't like the water, I don't like sand in between my toes! I don't even like sun-block! So when Guy came to me at the beginning. I said 'you got the wrong person'."
But three months later Mr Alonzo changed his mind. Even now he has no intentions of riding the bike and comforts himself knowing that many Formula 1 and NASA designers don't know how to drive the race car or fly a rocket.
Meanwhile Mr Howard-Willis had other concerns.
"We've done this is secret. My family didn't know for two reasons - one that people can put you off if they don't understand your vision, and the other one is if it didn't work you didn't have to tell anyone."
The Hydrofoil may look like a bicycle above the surface but below, it's something quite different.
"Because it's got pedals, a saddle and handlebars, people would naturally assume it's a bicycle on water but in many ways the characteristics resemble a bit more of an aircraft than that of a bicycle, wings vs wheels," Mr Alonzo says.
There has been seven prototypes over the years - each one advancing the design to get to the final design which is now ready for production.
Even before a single sale, interest is building with 1,700 orders already.
And Mr Howard-Willis is already planning the next model.
"Eventually we will do a very lightweight race bike. Then it becomes competitive, then it becomes a very interesting sport - an Olympic sport maybe."
The hydrofoil bike will have its first public outing at the Big Boys Toys convention on from the 10th to 12th of November in Auckland.
Made with funding from