Pages

Monday, November 11, 2024

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, ensured we were comfortably settled in our trishaw, making sure our seatbelts were fastened and covering us with a blanket. Lisa is a retired school teacher from Iowa who moved to Colorado two years ago to be closer to her two daughters. We enjoyed a delightful conversation with her as she skillfully navigated the streets.

My husband and I are in our early 70s and are still able to ride bicycles ourselves. However, it was enjoyable to sit back and take in the sights this way. I want to use my blog to encourage everyone who reads this to check if there is a local chapter of Cycling Without Age. Consider signing someone up who would enjoy a ride, or perhaps even volunteer as 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 walk, and it was beautiful in its autumn 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!

15 comments:

  1. wow - what a wonderful idea. I myself have hardly ever ridden a bike - as I didn't have one as a child. It looks like you had a very enjoyable scenic ride. Well done Cycling without age. Have a fabulous week. I am joining you at Mosaic Monday

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks like loads of fun and I would love this. You saw some really interesting and fun sights, too. And it looks like a perfect day for it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. ...I've seen Cycling without age before. What a neat program!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Jill this looks like so much fun! Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2024/11/avoca-mill.html - you made me smile!

    ReplyDelete
  5. How great is that! Looks like fun.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What fun! Fall looks so beautiful there. I am reading this while in the waiting room at the pediatric dentist & am quite jealous of your fun weekend haha. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's brilliant and a lot of fun too i enjoyed the photos :-)
    Have a cyclingtastic week 👍

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great concept and great initiative!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a fun ride you hjad with beautiful scenery. Cycling Without Age is a great idea. I wonder if we have anything similar in Australia.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The bike ride looks like a fun time. I love the garden and pumpkin photos. Take care, enjoy your day and the week ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That sounds like such a neat program! It looks like a lovely ride.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a great idea the Cycling Without Age is, plus I used to love visiting Hudson Gardens when we had the Denver house. I've biked the S Platte many times. It still looks like fall there even with your recent snow. Glad you enjoyed your ride!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, what a great program. I don't think Tulsa has anything like this. We have the riverparks trails and other places that I think people would love to see from a rickshaw.
    At my Dad's assisted living in Idaho Falls, ID several of the old guys would take off from the facility on sidewalks on their electric wheelchairs to go to their favorite bar and have a drink or two or three. Dad never participated but I think he wanted to sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow, what a great program. I don't think Tulsa has anything like this. We have the riverparks trails and other places that I think people would love to see from a rickshaw.
    At my Dad's assisted living in Idaho Falls, ID several of the old guys would take off from the facility on sidewalks on their electric wheelchairs to go to their favorite bar and have a drink or two or three. Dad never participated but I think he wanted to sometimes.

    ReplyDelete

COMMENT MODERATION is in effect for all posts on my blog. to defer spam. Thank you for your comments! I always appreciate hearing from visitors to my blog.