Getting seniors out and about despite the times
Hamilton’s first trishaw offers free weekly rides along the waterfront
It’s like a backwards carriage.
A three-wheeled electric cycle, with two cast-aluminum wheels up front, one wheel at the back. A red hood covers the wide cushioned seat in front. A footrest lies underneath.
On this “Rolls-Royce” of trishaws (TRY-shaws), seniors from Welcome Inn take free weekly rides along the waterfront.
Unlike a traditional carriage, the pilot sits at the back, pedalling the trishaw — with the help of an electric motor — while pointing out the scenery and landmarks to the passengers aboard.
The tour begins with the waterfront trail and goes to Princess Point before circling back. Though the rides are supposed to be an hour long, sometimes the pilots or passengers stop to talk to friends or take photos next to Theodore the Tugboat.
“I’ve lived in Hamilton for more than 50 years and I’ve never gone to those places,” says 93-year-old Angus Martin, a retired high school teacher who’s travelled the world.
Margaret Smith just tried out the cycle last week, enjoying her pilot pointing out the swans and herons on the water.
“It was just absolutely gorgeous,” said the 73-year-old, originally from Belfast. “We talked about everything.”
No wonder it’s called The Chat — a trishaw model designed by Danish cycle-maker Van Raam, which made its debut in Hamilton this summer.
“That was very, very nice just getting out and being with people that normally I wouldn’t associate with,” said Velma Fountain, 91, who’s already ridden the trishaw twice.
It was a dream three years in the making.
In June 2018, McMaster University’s former director of finance and her colleague began planting the seeds of a local Cycling Without Age chapter.
The worldwide organization helps seniors experience cycling and the outdoors with slow piloted rides with trained volunteers. It started in Denmark in 2012 and now has more than 2,500 chapters, including multiple in Ontario.
But connections and resources — including an $18,000 price tag — stood in the way of Nancy Gray and colleague Jill Axisa’s dream to bring a trishaw to Hamilton. McMaster pitched in $7,500. In a perfect twist of fate, Gray met Tammy Heidbuurt at New Hope Community Bikes, who was looking to get more seniors on bikes.
The charity offered another $2,000. Heidbuurt got in touch with the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA), who wanted to attract residents to the waterfront trail. HOPA matched McMaster’s donation.
And it turned out they could order the trishaw through a bike store right in Dundas, Hamilton Trike and ‘bent, slashing $4,000 from the cost.
The cycle arrived in late July from Holland via Rhode Island. Gray and her team trained volunteers to pilot the trishaw along the waterfront route and adopted Welcome Inn’s COVID-19 protocols. In August, seniors from Welcome Inn became its first riders.
“It’s a breath of fresh air during a hard time,” says Ruth Kaulback, seniors co-ordinator at the North End community centre.
Gray usually brings her own bike to ride alongside the tours, which she expects to continue for a few more weeks while the weather allows. Then, they’ll pause until spring, when Gray hopes to recruit seniors from Ken Soble Tower at 500 McNab St. N.
They’re planning training sessions for future pilots on Oct. 23 and 24 in the Bennetto Community Centre parking lot.
Anyone interested can contact Gray at cwahamilton@gmail.com. The chapter is also looking for sponsors, with a goal of securing five trishaws in five years.