Triobike: In the saddle!
There’s nothing quite like a trip around a beautiful park, taking in some fresh air, and admiring the scenery.
And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing in partnership with Friendship At Home, as part of the Cycling Without Age movement.
We invested in a triobike – a battery-assisted trishaw cycle operated by volunteer ‘pilots’ – to take older people out on rides. Covid-19 put paid to that for a while, but now we’re back and have completed the first trips of 2021 around Haverstoe Park.
Friendship At Home volunteers Joan and Dora, having enjoyed refreshments at the brilliant Haverstoe Park Pavilion, couldn’t wait to try it out.
Joan, from Grimsby, has been involved in the organisation’s weekly social clubs for about eight years.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute,” she said. “Getting out on the triobike is an added extra!”
Dora is from Immingham and used to work in nursing. She used to live in Spain and when she returned to live in Britain four years ago, she got involved with Friendship At Home through Jean. She’s been a volunteer there for about three years now.
“Getting involved and looking after people is ace,” she said.
The idea of the triobike is to help older people reconnect with their communities.
Find out more…
- Friendship At Home aims to combat loneliness and isolation throughout North East Lincolnshire, and to improve people’s quality of life. Get involved here –www.friendshipathome.org.uk
- The Cycle Hub – with bases at Grimsby’s and Cleethorpes’s railway stations – is a community interest company. Visit www.cyclehublincs.org.uk
- Good food, hot drinks and more are on offer at Haverstoe Park Pavilion. Find them here – facebook.com/HaverstoePavilion
- Cycling Without Age is a worldwide movement – head over to https://cyclingwithoutage.org
- Thanks to TransPennine Express for storing our triobike. Visit www.tpexpress.co.uk
We’d like to say a big thank-you to Cleethorpes Cycle Hub for repairing our triobike over the weekend, and to TransPennine Express and the booking office at Cleethorpes Railway Station for storing it through the pandemic. They have played their part in getting the triobike back into our community… so thank you!
If you think you could volunteer as a triobike pilot, get in touch with Friendship At Home on 01472 602500. Full training and support will be given.