Cycling Without Age Rides into Grimsby

We’re calling for volunteers to support a new cycling scheme that aims to reconnect elderly people with their community.

 Along with our partners at NAViGO we have collectively invested just over £11,000 in two Triobikes to bring Cycling Without Age, a project that encourages the generations to come together for a spin in the fresh air on a trishaw cycle, to the town.

Cycling Without Age will launch in Grimsby in the new year, but volunteers are being asked to come forwards for training in advance.

Cycling Without Age was established in 2012 in Copenhagen and has already brought together more than 10,000 trained cycling pilots (riders) and 50,000 elderly people, who share a journey through their communities and the surrounding countryside, reconnecting them with nature and one another.

 The health promotions team at St Hugh’s, led by Health Promotions Officer Gary Allington, will work alongside Friendship at Home, a charity which encourages befriending and support of older people to combat isolation and loneliness, to make full use of the programme.

Gary said: “I’m really excited about the Cycling Without Age scheme. As a keen cyclist myself, I know how great it feels to be out in the fresh air for a couple of hours each week.

“Our colleagues at Friendship at Home are already compiling a list of people they know who are interested in getting involved in the rides, which will take them – in the comfort and security of a Triobike – out and about for an hour through Grimsby and the surrounding areas.

“The battery-assisted bikes will have a pilot at the back and up to two passengers up front and I’d encourage local people with an interest in – what the founder of Cycling Without Age calls ‘active citizenship’ – to get in touch and volunteer some of their time to act as our riders.”

Full training and ongoing support will be given to anyone who wants to be a Triobike volunteer.

Those interested in volunteering their time to be a pilot should contact Gary Allington on 01472 251100 or email allingtong@hmtsthughs.org