Cycling without age

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A bike ride without age on the Rhine in Bonn

Cycling without age is the name of an initiative that was launched in Copenhagen in 2012 and has since been carried out into the world by many people.

Under the motto “Everyone has the right to wind in their hair”, the initiative offers free rickshaw rides to people who can no longer pedal themselves. The aim is to enable social participation and to offer mobility in old age as well as to combat social isolation and loneliness.

history

The story of the initiative begins in Copenhagen in 2012 when the 47-year-old social entrepreneur Ole Kassow cycled to work every day. On his way he sees an elderly gentleman sitting in front of a senior citizen facility. The encounter stays in his head. Later, when looking at historical cityscapes, he wonders whether this gentleman used to enjoy cycling as much as he does today. After thinking about it, an idea follows: Ole rents a bicycle rickshaw, drives to the senior citizens' facility and offers a ride. An elderly lady and her supervisor make the first rickshaw excursion.

The route takes them to places that the resident knows from before. She tells stories from that time and is very happy to see these places again. The trip is a great success and soon other residents of the home will also want to be rickshawed. With the support of the home management, a spontaneous idea becomes a regular leisure offer.

When Ole Kassow wrote to the city council of Copenhagen and asked for the financing of a rickshaw for the senior citizens' facility, he surprisingly found support there too: five rickshaws were ordered in one fell swoop. The initiative will then be presented to the public with a parade of the new rickshaws in April 2013 - two television stations and various newspapers will report.

Ole Kassow's idea resulted in the initiative “ Cykling uden alder , German 'Radeln ohne Alter' , English Cycling without Age ”, which quickly spread in Denmark and soon afterwards in many countries around the world. As of March 2020, there are 2200 regional groups with over 3000 rickshaws in more than 50 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia (including New Zealand).

Usually a group is formed in a part of the city or in a small town that organizes a rickshaw and makes it available for excursions to the surrounding homes and social institutions. Volunteers are instructed in the handling of the rickshaw and make themselves available as drivers.

effect

In 2019, a study by the Institute for Education, Upbringing and Advice found that the excursions offered by cyclists without age generally have a positive effect on older people. The passengers benefit from the many new social contacts and perceive the journeys as an enrichment for their everyday life. With the extended range of motion, they can experience the great outdoors again and visit places they have fond memories of. In particular, however, the conversations with the rickshaw driver and with other people you meet on the journey are rated positively.

Because of the special design of the rickshaws (passengers in front, driver in the back), communication is possible at any time while driving: “The social isolation, which represents a major hurdle in everyday life for many seniors, is inevitably reduced or even dissolved by cycling without age - from which not only the seniors, but also the pilots themselves benefit enormously. The positive experiences with the pilots are also very far-reaching. You lose fear of contact with the generation of older people and learn to deal with them in a casual and relaxed manner. You can combine sporting activity with social commitment and also have important interpersonal experiences. "

A 2020 study in Scotland also looked at the effects of the Cycling Without Age initiative on the mood and well-being of residents in senior citizens' facilities. The analyzes showed significant improvements in mood on days when residents were out in the rickshaw compared to other days. It was concluded from this that short-term improvements are clearly discernible.

These positive effects are also confirmed in media reports: some seniors have started speaking again after an excursion. People with dementia enjoyed the informality, became less aggressive and came back to the home in a good mood after the excursion. People with walking disabilities were happy that they could cover a longer distance in the fresh air without any worries. Visually impaired people explained that they can use all their senses while cycling - smelling the scent of flowers, listening to birds singing and “feeling the wind in your hair”.

Principles

All trips are always free of charge for seniors. This is based on the five guiding principles of the initiative:

  • Generosity - giving people time
  • Stories - tell and listen
  • Relationships - let arise
  • Slowness - use it to experience the environment
  • Without age - bridge generation differences

The trips with the residents are carried out by volunteers in their free time. The communication between passengers and drivers is very important, so only those rickshaws are used, where the passengers sit in front and thus good conversation is possible. During the journey, a friendly relationship develops between passengers and drivers. By slowly and leisurely experiencing the landscape along the chosen route, the environment is experienced intensively and enjoyed together. Age differences are used to listen to and learn from one another.

execution

The Radeln ohne Alter initiative can take into account different local conditions: The social institutions usually organize the rickshaw rides as a leisure activity for the residents and help with logistics. Volunteer groups on site recruit drivers, instruct them in how to use the rickshaw and train them to deal with passengers. The purchase of the rickshaws is financed by donations or by the beneficiary homes. Existing groups and the umbrella organization Radeln ohne Alter Deutschland eV support start-ups with advice.

There are the captains on site , who are experienced drivers who are responsible for the rickshaw and who train new volunteers before these pilots undertake rickshaw trips with passengers on their own.

Club work

In addition to general club activities - such as round tables, club meetings, general meetings - Radeln ohne Alter -local groups are involved in public relations, for example at trade fairs and other events; others offer first aid courses for members. Tours lasting several days and even several weeks are also organized: in 2019 a rickshaw tour from Lake Constance along the Rhine to Bonn; along the Berlin Wall Trail in autumn 2019 ; in autumn 2018 from Bonn to Berlin.

The work of the umbrella organization

Cycling without age advocates the participation of people with limited mobility in social life and against the loneliness and social isolation of older people. There is a right to wind in your hair at any age. In implementing this philosophy, individual Radeln ohne Alter initiatives have been set up in Germany since 2015 . The non-profit umbrella organization Radeln ohne Alter Deutschland eV, which was founded in Bonn in 2019, supports new locations in the establishment of local groups. The aim of the umbrella association is to give even more people in Germany the opportunity to feel the wind in their hair. As a central point, the association advises local initiatives and supports them with organizational and technical issues. In this way, a sustainable, structured development at federal and state level is to be ensured, individual initiatives are to be networked and synergy effects are to be used.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The inaugural ride through Copenhagen on April 5, 2013. (Photos) In: Flickr . Retrieved July 13, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Dr. Ursula Maria Esser, Lennart Gloker: Cycling without age (RoA) . Evaluation study. Ed .: Institute for Education, Upbringing and Advice . Bonn October 15, 2019, overall assessment, p. 10 .
  3. ↑ Ryan Gray, Alan J. Gow: Cycling Without Age: Assessing the Impact of a Cycling-Based Initiative on Mood and Wellbeing . In: Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine . tape 6 , no. I-9 , July 26, 2020, doi : 10.1177 / 2333721420946638 (English).
  4. ↑ Anna-Lena Jaensch: Wind in your hair. In: Der Spiegel . August 16, 2019, accessed July 12, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Voluntary Association: Cycling Without Age. (Video, 4:06 min) In: Sat.1 breakfast television . June 4, 2019, accessed July 12, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Julia Batist: Cycling for a lot of wind in your hair! (Podcast, 19:33 min) In: WDR  August 5, 19, 2019, accessed on July 12, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Including district rickshaw on Radaktiv-Tag 2019. In: We participate! June 28, 2019, accessed July 12, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Cycling without age. (Video, 3:07 min) Final of the Bodensee-Bonn Tour 2019. In: RTL West. September 24, 2019, accessed July 12, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Treptow-Köpenick - With the rickshaw along the Wall Path. In: Berliner Abendblatt . September 27, 2019, accessed July 12, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Kati Imbeck: In a rickshaw to Berlin. In: kati cares (blog) . February 26, 2019, accessed July 12, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Austin Davis: 30 Years After the Fall of the Wall: Rickshaw Tour for Seniors. In: Deutsche Welle. October 3, 2019, accessed July 12, 2020 .