Cycling Without Age Needs a New Home
By Contributor
Cycling Without Age has operated in Trail and Rossland for the past four years, giving dozens of people the joy of feeling the wind in their hair on board our e-assist rickshaw, known as a trishaw. The program has been successful in Trail, where volunteers ride people from Columbia View Lodge and Chateau Manor, along with people living in the community. We have the opportunity to bring a second trishaw to Trail, but we need a new home!
Our trishaw is currently located at Columbia View Lodge, where staff provide residents with rides during the day and our volunteers take folks out for rides on evenings and weekends. We drive the trishaw down to Chateau Manor, Giro Park and other downtown locations for community members.
We want to take full advantage of our second trishaw and bring it from Rossland to a downtown location in Trail. Currently, we make the long drive from Columbia View Lodge to the downtown area, but it takes considerable time and adds a lot of wear-and-tear to the trishaw. Some volunteers are reluctant to take on the transport portion of the ride, as it involves going down and then up a lengthy hill.
A few things about the program:
- Cycling Unlimited is built on the well-established model of Cycling Without Age, a worldwide organization established in Denmark in 2012 and operating in almost 3000 chapters in 52 countries.
- Cycling Unlimited would continue to fully operate the program, with no involvement required by those operating the location where it is stored.
- The program is fully insured and all riders complete an application form and waiver.
- Drivers, or ‘pilots’ as they are known, are fully trained and subject to a criminal records check.
- Gerrick’s Cycle maintains the trishaws at no cost, other that for parts.
Can you help us find a downtown location? Please contact diana@cyclingwithoutage.ca if you have a location you are willing to provide, or with any ideas on good storage spots.
