Cycling Without Age – a right to wind in your hair

Last week, ScandAsia brought you a story about elderly welfare in Denmark and Singapore. One of the many initiatives mentioned was the Cycling Without Age, a project that takes elders on bike rides in trishaws as a way of getting them outside and letting them explore the outdoors. The project has spread to more than 20 countries all over the globe with Singapore being the only branch in Asia.

Cycling Without Age was founded by Danish entrepreneur Ole Kassow in Copenhagen, 2012.

“It lets them feel the wind in their hair, helps reconnect communities, and gives the young and old a sense of belonging to their cities,” said Pernille Bussone, Danish expatriate in Singapore and rider of Cycling Without Age’s trishaws in Singapore. Pernille Bussone is the main rider but she has trained more than 40 new volunteers in Singapore to help out.

The Salvation Army and St Luke’s ElderCare Centre in Singapore are among the organisations that use the trishaws and The Salvation Army will receive an additional two trishaws from a donation made by a Danish IT company in Singapore.

Cycling Without Age has spread all over the world – including Singapore

So far the project has brought joy to more than just seniors. 46 year old William Tan is paralysed in the entire left side of his body after he had a stroke five years ago. His wife, Ms Nancy Chew, found the Cycling Without Age the perfect gift for her husband. “It brought back memories of how we used to cycle together,” said Ms Chew.

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) is looking into the possibilities of expanding Cycling Without Age in Singapore: “LTA is currently assessing how we can support this meaningful social initiative by Cycling Without Age, while taking into account the safety of its beneficiaries as well as other commuters,” says a spokesman of the LTA to The Straits Times.