Caregivers and families of seniors are always looking for ways to get them outside into the fresh air. This sweet story about rickshaw rides for seniors is awesome.
Senior citizens are often “trapped” in their homes. Things like illness and lack of family around make their isolation so awful and complete. There is a volunteer organization called Cycling Without Age is changing that in a super fun way. This is such a great story.
Cycling Without Age and Rickshaw Rides
A rickshaw is a 3-wheeled vehicle that’s basically a bike with a seat for passengers. I’m sure you’ve seen them, at least on TV and movies.
In 2012 a man named Ole Kassow of Denmark wanted to help seniors get out on bikes again. He knew their mobility issues meant that riding a bike could be a true challenge, if not impossible.
He bought himself a rickshaw and connected with a senior home, and began offering their residents rides. It was a very big hit. Soon enough, Cycling Without Age was born. They now have chapters in 40 countries all around the world!
How Rickshaw Rides With Cycling Without Age Works
“Volunteers (pilots) sign up for bike rides with the elderly as often or as rarely as they want to. It’s all driven by people’s own motivation. At present (March 2019) more than 1,600 chapter locations around the world offer Cycling Without Age from well over 2,500 trishaws – and the numbers are still growing. More than 29,000 pilots ensure that the elderly get out of their nursing homes, out on the bikes to enjoy the fresh air and the community around them. They give them the right to wind in their hair.” – Cycling Without Age
I have to tell you personally that this fills my heart. It’s a hands-on, personal way to both connect with our senior citizens and to bless them with what the site describes as “giving them the right to wind in their hair, the right to experience the city and nature close up from the bicycle and by giving them an opportunity to tell their story in the environment where they have lived their lives.”
Are these rides available in the USA?
Yes! You’ll find chapters in California, Connecticut, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
If you don’t have a chapter near you, and you’d like to start one in your city, you can. Start by going to the website and finding out more. You’ll have some footwork to do, but if you love this and it fills your heart with the joy that comes from being good to people, it’ll be worth it. I’ll bet you can find plenty of folks in your community who want to work alongside you to get a program in place.
If you do start a chapter, or have personal experience with this amazing organization, please tell us about it in the comments. We’d truly love to hear more.
Leave a Review!
We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here.
Your email address will not be published.
3 comments on “Volunteers Are Taking Seniors On Rickshaw Rides To Get Them Out In Nature”
We have a program that does this in Bloomington, IL called Healing Rides. We have different bikes, and have seen the blessings abound.
I suppose I should count as elderly, but as far as I am concerned, I don’t.
But I live in Thailand, where anyone not driving a car, truck, van, bus, et al, is at risk from many of those who are.
The website allows you to sign up to be a provider, not how to be a recipient. I am elderly and disabled and I would like to see if there is a chapter near me that I could contact.