Helping Seniors, One Bike Ride At A Time

Madeleine Séguin hadn’t ridden a bike in 80 years.

The 94-year-old says the last time she peddled a bicycle she was a teenager.

So imagine the thrill when she was among the first in Ottawa to try Cycling Without Age - a new program designed to put seniors back on the bike paths.

“It’s wonderful,” she beamed after rolling up and down a bike path near her home at Bruyère Village in the city’s east end.

Bruyère Continuing Care unveiled the bike on Wednesday, in partnership with a local resident, Gary Bradshaw, who brought the concept home after seeing it in action in Europe. “Living in the east end and  being a neighbour to Bruyère, and on the bike path, (I was) thinking this is going to be a no-brainer," says Bradshaw.

Cycling Without Age enlists volunteer “pilots” to give seniors bike rides in a special rickshaw-style bike. One or two passengers sit up front while the pilot peddles from behind. The almost $10-thousand bikes feature everything from a protective canopy to seatbeltsto disc brakes and an electric motor for added boost. "It's the easiest thing to drive. Easier than a car by far," says 19-year-old pilot Arianna Knoefel.

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