As Mary Stokes passed children and other locals in Sackville’s Waterfowl Park, she was greeted with waves and “good mornings” that she eagerly returns.
The 89-year-old is a resident of the Drew Nursing Home and loves to roam the town. On one particular sunny day in late July, she did it in style.
Stokes didn’t walk around town — she rolled.
Right behind her was Trent Bowser, activity co-ordinator at the nursing home. He peddled on the back of a tricycle with a wide seat attached to the front where Stokes sat and enjoyed the day without breaking a sweat.
“Are you getting tired, Trent?” she asked him, laughing.
A mix between a tricycle and a rickshaw, the smooth ride is called a trishaw.
WATCH | ‘It gets you out in the air’
Sackville seniors get the wind in their hair with national bike program
Drew Nursing Home in Sackville, N.B., is taking advantage of Cycling Without Age Canada, a national initiative that aims to improve the social connection of seniors one bike ride at a time.
It’s one of the many rides being used across the country as part of Cycling Without Age Canada. It’s an initiative that aims to improve the life and level of activity of all Canadians, especially seniors, by giving them access to local bike rides.
With permission slips signed and a final course plotted, Bowser said nursing home residents can be ready to roll into Sackville from a new point of view.
“A lot of the time it’ll be going passed people’s old houses or maybe making a stop for ice cream or showing the town to people who aren’t from Sackville,” he said.
The program is also used to reduce social isolation by allowing seniors to connect with their community outside of their homes and nursing homes.
Stokes was happy to hop on and see something new.
“It gets you out in the air and see people going up and looking at you as if you’re crazy,” she said laughing. “It’s different from your ordinary walking and whatnot. You get out and see different things that you wouldn’t ordinarily see, you know.”
Trent Bowser and Mary Stokes make a pit stop in Sackville to admire Stokes’s former house in town. (Jonna Brewer/CBC)
She said she never got to ride a bike when she was younger. Now, the cycling program gives her that chance.
And it’s especially nice to have someone else doing all the leg work, she added.
The program has bikes in 131 communities across nine provinces, one territory and two First Nations, according to its 2023 strategic plan. In New Brunswick, there are also rides at Fredericton’s Windsor Court Retirement Residence and Saint John’s Loch Lomond Villa, according to its website.
In the front seat, Stokes pointed out one special stop she particularly loves to make with the trishaw.
About a five-minute drive from the nursing home is her old home on Beal Heights. Comfortably seated under her blanket, she reminisced about the memories the house still carries for her.
“The kids lived with me, it was good,” she said. “A really good neighbourhood. Everybody knew each other and everybody was willing to help one another.”
Like an electric bike, when Bowser peddles, it charges a battery on the back of the trishaw. He said it goes up to about 20 kilometres an hour on flat ground and closer to 30 kilometres an hour downhill.
Information Morning – Moncton10:14Seniors cycling
CBC’s Jonna Brewer visited the Drew Nursing Home in Sackville to hear about a special program called Cycling Without Age.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to get some nice fresh air … and just help people escape for a little bit,” he said. “It’s probably my favourite part of the day.”
Bowser is the only staff member trained to take the residents on rides. He called it his second office in the summer.
“Seeing people’s smiles, and just doing things that are so normal to us,” he said. “You know, just going down a little drive down the road and seeing how much it means to them.”
Source link : https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/drew-nursing-home-cycling-without-age-1.7289934
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Publish date : 2024-08-09 21:08:53
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