Cycling Without Age brings the amazing feeling of riding a bicycle to those who are not able to pedal on their own. Wisconsin now boasts having more Cycling Without Age Chapters than any other state in the country.
Cycling Without Age is a movement started in 2012 by Ole Kassow. Ole wanted to help the elderly get back on their bicycles, but he had to find a solution to their limited mobility. The answer was a trishaw and he started offering free bike rides to the local nursing home residents.
Today, in Wisconsin, you can start your own chapter! Working with the Wisconsin Bike Fed, we can help you establish your chapter, present the concept to funders & volunteers, fundraise for trishaws, train pilots and most importantly reduce isolation and put smiles on faces!
How Cycling Without Age Works
Trained volunteers are scheduled to pilot 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.
You can help bring this international success to your community!
Bike Fed staff are experienced working with communities and nursing homes and assisted living facilities to get Cycling Without Age programs started. Once we help with the purchase of the special trishaw, train the pilots and organize the program, you can take over from there. Contact Michelle Bachaus with questions.
The following five guiding principles have made this program an international success and helped Wisconsin develop 14 chapters:
- Consultation from the Bike Fed for program
- Bicycle Safety First – Riding comfortably and confidently
- Introduction presentation and demo rides
- Pilot Training
- Train the Trainer
