“She loved it!” “They were all smiles!” Just some of the feedback we’ve heard this summer about the Cycling Without Age program offered by Age Friendly Cold Lake.
Now that the rides are done for the season due to shorter days and cooler mornings, we’re reflecting on all the trishaw rides our volunteers have piloted and all the happy passengers we’ve heard about.
This summer, we focused our rides on the three senior facilities in Cold Lake (Cold Lake Lodge, Points West Living, Long Term Care). Since the maiden voyage of our trishaw in July we’ve had a total of 41 different rides with 75 passengers. We may have had to navigate a few flat tires and screeching brakes, but the response we’ve received from the community has made it all worth it.
Reflecting on her experience as a pilot, one of our volunteers said, “The smile it brought to their faces lit up my heart.” She recalls a particular ride when she took a passenger to the marina, and the passenger marveled to her travel mate about the boats and how much she enjoyed seeing them.
Another pilot fondly recalls training a new volunteer pilot and watching him interact with his passenger. “The new driver bent down to talk with our passenger. She grabbed his hand in hers, thanking him with such beautiful sincerity and happiness. It made me feel so proud to be a part of this program and see her smile like that.”
Age Friendly Cold Lake would like to thank the New Horizons for Seniors program and the Grand Centre Lions Club for funding the trishaw; Mach 1 Sports for assembling the trishaw and getting us in for speedy repairs; and of course all of our wonderful volunteer pilots. We couldn’t have brought the Cycling Without Age program to Cold Lake without all your dedication and support.
We look forward to seeing our passengers again next spring, hopefully along with some new faces too.
