WILMINGTON CYCLING WITHOUT AGE

Our guest blogger is Terri Schlabach, manager of the Wilmington Chapter of Cycling Without Age, and the owner of Wheelies on Mulberry.

Wilmington’s chapter of Cycling Without Age is off to a rolling start on the Luther Warren Peace Path this year. 
After Clinton County Trails Coalition was granted funds from HealthFirst of Clinton County and Rails To Trails Coalition for the purchase of 2 three- wheeled electric tri-shaws from Copenhagen Denmark, designed specifically to give rides to those that can’t ride, we spent many months training pilots in to be prepared for the summer 

We have seven fully-trained pilots and a full slate of pilots in training.  We are in process of booking rides with one last long-term care facility in Clinton County and are currently giving rides each week to both long term care residents who come by bus as a group and individuals who book rides one on one.

WIND IN YOUR HAIR

​​One of the most satisfying parts of these rides is getting to experience the Luther Warren Peace Path in its array of beauty through seasonal and daily changes.  We’ve stopped to pick wildflowers for residents to take home with them.  We stop to take photos of wild turkeys or fawns or snakes we see as we’re riding.  We listen for birds and try to guess what kind they are before we spot them. Riders say the experience reminds them of playing in the woods as a child.  The foliage is finally all filled in and the deep green of the woods is an incredible invitation to breathe deep and soak up the beauty of the forest as we ride through.

Many of us rode bikes as small children.  For elderly or differently abled residents of our community, it seems the gift of riding along on the trishaw bike through the woods with wind in our hair takes us back to riding bike in an earlier stage of life.  We laugh and talk and see if we can spot wildlife.  Riding along in the dappled sunshine and shade makes us feel alive in a new way.

WHO WE ARE

Cycling Without Age is an international community of trishaw pilots giving rides to those not able to ride a bike.  We are so grateful for our trails, for the Clinton County Trails Coalition and their grant writing and maintenance of our local trails, our mechanics at Wheelies on Mulberry bike shop keeping the trishaws running, and to those who make the effort to transport community members for rides. 

SCHEDULE A RIDE

When a group of riders comes to Mulberry Street for rides, they can choose to sit in air conditioning inside Trail Haus restaurant or soak up the sun on the patio and enjoy lunch or a drink while they wait on their turn to ride.  We have handicap accessible restrooms available and can ride the trishaw bike up the patio ramp to transfer a new set of riders onto the trishaw bike. All rides are given for free.

​As always, you can contact Wheelies on Mulberry to schedule a ride for someone in your life who cannot ride a bike by calling 937-768-2678, emailing us at [email protected] or messaging us on Facebook or Instagram.  We are making the most of this beautiful Ohio weather!

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