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Urban mobility
Cycling Miss Daisy
In two years, the organisation has grown from a one man and one bike operation in Copenhagen, Denmark – to be serving elderly around the world with more than 600 rickshaws and thousands of enthusiastic pilots as well as dedicated care home staff making things happen.
Dan Mikkelsen, from Wellington, is one of the pilots.“It’s really nice to be able to go out and go for a bike ride – I love riding bikes – and really share that moment with the older generation.” Dan replies.
Aylene and Neil Boughton, from a retirement village in Wellington, were getting a trial ride around by Dan and they imagined it would catch on with other elderly people at their home.“A lot of people there are mobile but they can’t walk very far,” Aylene Boughton said.
Rickshaws bringing joy back to elderly people
After having heard several stories about the elder generation was missing the freedom, the joy and the mobility of cycling, Ole Kassow founded Cycling Without Age a few years ago. The idea was to get these people back on the bicycle again to experience the joys and cheers of cycling. This initiative quickly spread across Denmark, and several municipalities in Denmark have invested in rickshaws, and now also cities in New Zealand and Australia among 24 other nations around the globe.
One of the reasons behind the success of Cycling Without Age is that it engages communities, companies and individuals in common relations with the aging population by bringing the elderly back into their communities on rickshaws – giving them and their pilots the right to wind in their hair.
So forget Driving Miss Daisy – now it is Cycling Miss Daisy!
This initiative not only strengthens communities across generations, but it contributes to both physical and mental well-being of the elderly and volunteers, thus giving nursing homes and municipalities a golden opportunity to stimulate and promote health and mobility.
As Ole Kassow puts it:
“Cycling Without Age is about quality of life. It’s about showing that the city is at it’s loveliest when seen from the cycle track. It’s about the fact that cyclists are happier. It’s about the fact that cyclists are healthier, live longer and are less ill.”
Read more about Cycling WIthout Age.
Photo: Cyclign Without Age
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