Something for the weekend: When comparing journey times and routes for the daily commute, most employees expect to hear about packed train carriages or late-running buses. However, one New Jersey-based commuter has bolstered his wellbeing by skipping the traditional travel traps and building his own foldable boat.
Tom Lutz (pictured), an engineer who works for technology giant Google, commutes daily from his home in New Jersey to Google’s offices in Chelsea, Manhattan. Typically, this journey may be fraught with rush hour traffic, however Lutz has invented a creative way to skip the travel stress and meander to work at his own pace.
Lutz starts his commute on a folding Brompton bike, towing behind him a small folding boat. Called a Fliptail Collapsible Dinghy, the boat is Lutz's own design. Once he gets to the Hudson River, he sets up the boat and stows his bike on board, traversing the second half of his work journey by water.
Here at Employee Benefits, we think this sounds like a very scenic and peaceful start to the day, as well as a good way to fit in some exercise. We are not entirely sure whether the Thames would be as simple to navigate…