THE GOOD PLACE
Get Out for a Ride
Cycling Without Age helps seniors in Brockville recapture that “wind in the hair” feeling that comes with riding a bike.
By Kate Rae
Volunteer pilot Dean Campbell gears up for a leisurely trishaw ride with senior Mary Jane Kerr on a bright, sunny day. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF CYCLING WITHOUT AGE
FOUNDED IN COPENHAGEN in 2012 by avid cyclist Ole Kassow, the movement Cycling Without Age (CWA) began with a trishaw and Kassow’s desire to help socially isolated seniors reconnect with their community by reliving a joyful childhood activity.
CWA chapters quickly started popping up all over the world as people saw the project’s enormous benefits. In Brockville, Ont., resident JoAnn Bell funded and founded a chapter in memory of her mother. The group now takes seniors out for bike rides in Brockville, Prescott, Morrisburg, Merrickville, Eastons Corners, Smith Falls and Gananoque.
The rides take place on a trishaw (a bike with a two-seat bench on the front) or a Velo Plus transporter, which hitches seated wheelchair users onto a platform. The bikes are all battery-assisted to help out the volunteer “pilots,” who range in age from the 30s to the 80s.
Mike Libbos, a pilot and CWA board member, recalls convincing a reluctant neighbour to let him take her out. “I said, ‘It’s just a bike ride. How can you not like a bike ride on a beautiful summer day?’ So, she came with her daughter last summer and she was so pleased. She was so happy.”
“There’s lots of smiles, a lot of giggles and a lot of thank-yous. It’s just a good excuse for people to get out.”
Some passengers like taking the path along the St. Lawrence River or winding their way through town. Others want to visit their old neighbourhoods. Each ride takes about an hour. “We’re not in a hurry,” notes Libbos. “If we see something of interest, we stop. There’s lots of smiles, a lot of giggles and a lot of thank-yous. It’s just a good excuse for people to get out. And for some people, that’s their only outing.”
One woman phoned Libbos after seeing a picture of her mom on a CWA bike. “She said, ‘She had the biggest smile on her face that I’ve seen in a long time,’ ” recalls Libbos. That woman later donated $15,000 towards the cost of a new $20,000 wheelchair transporter, now dubbed ‘Ruby’ in honour of her mother.
CWA in Brockville currently has 18 active pilots for the May to October season this year and they’re always looking for more. “It’s nice for the passengers, but it’s nice for the volunteer pilots, too,” says Libbos. “We get as much out of it as they do.” CAA
Cycling Without Age is a CAA Member–nominated organization. Visit cyclingwithoutage.ca to find your local chapter and get involved.
Do you know of a Good Place? We want to celebrate community organizations that strive to make life better for all. E-mail us and share their stories.