The ‘Cycling Without Age’ Dryden Chapter is now a reality.
It’s been a year in the making but thanks to grants and community contributions, the local group has raised about 11 thousand dollars to purchase trishaw bike to offer area seniors free rides.
“We’ve had great community support,” said Spokesperson for the Dryden chapter of CWA Carol Gardam. “We’ve had some grants from the Retired Teachers and Educators of Ontario, we received a grant from the New Horizon’s Senior Program through the Federal Government, a partnership with the City of Dryden that enabled us to get insurance for our volunteers, the pilots who drive the bike and for the passengers who get the ride. Steve Belanger has been great to work with. We’ve got the shed now on the parking lot at the museum, which Bruce Taylor (of Home Hardware) has donated and Domtar Dryden Mill has made a donation towards the project and the Walmart Community Grant Program.”
Volunteer drivers, known as pilots, will peddle the bike while seniors sit in the passenger bench and enjoy the fresh air.
Marg Tschumi, the first Dryden senior to get a ride on the local CWA Trishaw bike.
“What we want to do is to reconnect our seniors with Dryden, the community that they are apart of. They can get out, feel the wind in their hair. A big part of it is that it’s a slow bike ride, so they can enjoy the sights and sounds, if they stop and see people they can chit chat with them. Go along the river, see the mill, see all the new things that are happening downtown and around our community, some of the paths that we have they can enjoy.”
The bike also has a battery pack to assist with any up hill rides, a retractable hood to protect from the sun or if the weather turns poor and removable foot rests for easy transfer of passengers.
Gardam adds they hope to help seniors with mobility challenges or who may be socially isolated get out of their homes and build bridges between different generations.
“There’s going to be a sign up system in the lobby’s of the senior homes at 10 Victoria, 330 Van Horne Avenue, Patricia Gardens and 108-104 St. Charles Street. We also want to target the seniors that are living in their own homes that would like to go out and see the sights of Dryden on a nice slow bike ride.”
If you’d like to be a volunteer pilot or if you know a senior who will benefit from a ride on the bike, you can call Carol Gardam at 221-8459.
A Facebook page for the Dryden CWA is also in the works.
