Cycling Without Age

Last  week my husband and I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a "trishaw" bicycle ride in Hudson Gardens in Littleton, Colorado with volunteers in an organization called "Cycling Without Age Littleton."  They provide free rides locally by appointment. We signed up through a neighborhood senior resourse called "Aging and Unstoppable," which we attend once a month, hosted by a Senior Real Estate Specialist, Kali Hepker.

Information about the organaztion from the CWA Littleton website:

"Cycling Without Age is a movement started in 2012 by Ole Kassow, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ole wanted to help the elders get back on their bicycles, but he had to find a solution to their limited mobility. The answer was a trishaw--and electric three wheel and cart bicycle --and he started offering free bike rides to the local nursing home residents. Ole felt everyonre should feel the wind in their hair/'

He then got in touch with a civil society consultant from the City of Copenhagen, Dorthe Pedersen, who was intrigued by the idea and together they bought five trishaws and launched Cycling Without Age, which has now spread to all corners of Denmark, and since 2015 to another 50 countries around the world." www.cyclingwithoutage.org

Our driver, Lisa, tucked us into our seats in the trishaw and made sure we were buckled in and comfortable, with a blanket on our laps. Lisa is a retired school teacher from Iowa who moved to Colorado two years ago as her two daughters live here. We had a wonderful conversation with her as she skillfully drove us around. 

My husband and I are in our early 70s, and able to ride a bicycle ourselves, but it was fun to sit back and enjoy the sights this way and to be able to get the word out through my blog to encourage everyone who reads this to look if there is a chapter of XCycling Without Age where you live to sign someone up who would enjoy a ride, or perhaps volunteer to be a driver yourself.

From Hudson Gardens, we enjoyed a beautiful view of the foothills. As shown in this photo, our neighborhood, situated in those foothills, experienced its first snowfall of the fall season the day before.

Hudson Gardens is always a favorite place for us to take a walk, and it was beautiful in all its autumnal splendor.

If you'd like to view the garden in its summer glory, click on this link which will show two posts about the garden from earlier times.

 

Workers were taking down the Halloween displays from the annual " "Magic of the Jack O'Lanterns" event.  We enjoyed attending this a few years ago with our grandchildren.

Next, Lisa went outside Hudson Gardens to ride the bicycle path along the South Platte River Park. South Platte Park protects two-and-a-half miles of the South Platte River along with the surrounding riparian (streamside) habitat of cottonwood forests and wetlands

We had views of the river as we rode beside it.

Lisa explained to us that this metal sculpture depicts the height of the South Platte River during the disastrous flood of 1965!  Informational placards tell the story, which you can read on this website. The Chatfield Reservoir and Dam was built between 1967 and 1975 to help prevent flooding of the river in this area ever again.

We followed another Cycling Without Age volunteer driver, Blaine, back to the Hudson Gardens Parking lot.  We really enjoyed our comfortable trishaw ride and all the pretty views we saw.  

The Littleton Cycling Without Age volunteers provide almost 1,000 rides a year. To view a short PBS video about the Littleton Cycling Without Age Organization -- click here.

If you live in the Littleton, Colorado, area, and would like to schedule a ride for yourself or someone you know, click here.

To donate to this wonderful 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization click here for further information.

Thank you, Kali, for arranging this wonderful outing, and to, Lisa, at CWA for a very enjoyable ride!

Please join me again on my blog next week.

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