Cousins Bonnie Duits and Kalleen Turchet are working together to help seniors get back on a bicycle.
Kalleen Turchet explains Cycling Without Age has chapters across Canada, adding she and Duits have already reached out to Castle Peak Retirement Residence, The Pines Long Term Care Home, and the Alzheimer Society of Muskoka.
The rides are free, but anyone interested has to sign up ahead of time.
The rides are done using a trishaw which was brought to prominence by Ole Kassow in 2012 when he created Cycling Without Age. The bicycle is similar to a rickshaw but the seats are in the front rather than the back.
Turchet explains that biking is a big part of the culture in Denmark, which is where Kassow is from, so he created this idea to help those who were unable to bike experience the thrill of being in their community. “The thought of being able to help get more people on bikes is just incredible for me,” she says, adding she is an avid cyclist.
The rides would be free with volunteers piloting the electric trishaws. A fundraising campaign has been set up to help Turchet and Duits purchase one, which costs just under $10,000.
Eventually, she says the plan is to buy a couple more with different features. Turchet says there are others that are more powerful and would be able to navigate some of the hills in Bracebridge while another is wheelchair accessible.
She asks anyone interested in being a pilot to email [email protected].
“One of the founding principles is the idea of slowness in that you wave at people, you stop and you talk with people, they’re interested in the bikes so there’s a level of social interaction and sharing,” explains Duits.
She learned of the idea when visiting her parents in British Columbia. Her mom lives in an assisted living home after being diagnosed with dementia. While sitting outside with her, a woman drove up in one of the trishaws and offered to take the pair on a ride. “My mom and I used to bike and cross-country ski together,” she adds.
After an hour-and-a-half ride through the area, she and her mom were hooked. “There was this socialization and smiles and sharing of stories,” says Duits.
Once her mom, who Dutif admits was overwhelmed at first, relaxed, she says the ride went smoothly. “It was just an element of sharing new things together which hadn’t happened in a long time,” she says.
Dutif hopes to be able to get the program running by the fall and, if all goes well, purchase more trishaws next year.
