Cyclist takes the plunge

By Chris Charles BBC Sport Online

It was Freddie Mercury who once opined: "I'll ride my bike where I like."

But you can bet even he didn't pedal his machine on the bottom of the sea.

Yet that is exactly what extreme sports enthusiast Wolfgang Kulov did - and what's more, he managed to keep pedalling for three hours.

It gives a whole new meaning to the term water wheels.

At one point I had to drive around a discarded garden gnome

Wolfgang Kulov

All in all, Kulov travelled 2.6 miles along the sea bed without resurfacing.

The 53-year-old German is now claiming a world record for his efforts - based on the fact no-one else has been stupid enough to try it.

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Kulov's madcap journey took him along Germany's North Sea coast, from Schlewsig-Holstein to nearby Ostseebad.

He used a specially-adapted lead bike to ensure he did not rise to the surface and was assisted by breathing apparatus.

But he insisted there were no tricky moments during his epic voyage.

"A couple of fish came along for the ride, sitting on the handlebars," he revealed.

"And at one point I had to drive around a discarded garden gnome that someone had thrown in the water.

"But other than that, no major incidents arose."

Sounds like he had a whale of a time.