An appeal has been launched in Kendal to help people of all ages feel the wind in their hair again on a specially adapted bicycle.
The elderly and less able-bodied will be able to take a journey on a trishaw – a kind of rickshaw bike that has been acquired by a cycling enthusiast keen to help others enjoy three-wheeled freedom.
Nigel Rice has enjoyed life on the road and even at the age of 89 he still takes time to cycle on a recumbent bike.
“I am now the proud owner of a recumbent tricycle with electric assist, electric gear change hub and full suspension,” Nigel said.
“I get out on a regular basis around Kendal, with a run along the riverside, through Scroggs wood and back along the old canal.
“Staveley is a favourite, with a stop at Wilf’s for coffee. Grange-over-Sands is a lovely run, along the National Cycle Network route. I come back from these trips feeling elated, only wishing that I could share them with my wife.”
Kendal resident Nigel is keen to share the joy his trike brings him with friends and neighbours, one of whom has been diagnosed with dementia while another is now wheelchair bound and blind.
He heard about a Danish project called Cycling Without Agewhere a cyclist hired a bicycle rickshaw and volunteered to take nursing home residents out for rides.
The initiative took off and is now active in countries around the world including the UK.
Inspired by this, Nigel has acquired a three-wheeled, battery assisted machine which has a seat for two on the front.
“Everyone has the right to feel the wind in their hair and the trishaw offers this experience to those who are unable to ride a bike themselves,” he said.
“With a carer doing the harder work, a seat for two on the front means people who are no longer as mobile as they would like to can be taken for a ride in their community as often as they wish, at a gentle speed that will give them time to enjoy their surroundings.”
The hunt is now on for somewhere to store it while a voluntary organisation is formed. He hopes to have trained cycling ‘pilots’ ready to lead the first trishaw trips next spring.
“When I am 90 I should like to then sit back and benefit from the formation of a Kendal Chapter of Cycling Without Age,” Nigel said.
He can be contacted via nigelrice35@gmail.com
