By Jennifer M. McGivney
A unique Annual Meeting event raised funds to help a Boston-area nonprofit share the joys of bike riding with nursing home residents.
Before providers of aging services gathered in Boston for the LeadingAge Annual Meeting and the Global Ageing Network Biennial Conference, some attendees gathered for a special event: a Joy Ride. On November 2, a group of hearty souls gathered at the University of Massachusetts Boston for a scenic ride around campus.
This ride wasn’t just for fun, however; it was a fundraiser, too.
The event, sponsored by Cycling Without Age (CWA), Leading Age, and UMass Boston Gerontology, raised funds that the Plymouth CWA chapter will use to purchase a new trishaw, enabling more older adults to experience the joy of a bike ride. A trishaw features a bench seat that allows two people to sit comfortably up front while a volunteer pedals from the back.
Bike rides aren’t just fun, after all. They can be a special kind of medicine. A study published in Innovation in Aging found that older adults who rode a bike twice a week for 12 weeks experienced a boost in happiness and well-being. CWA was created in 2012 to provide this boost by offering bike rides to nursing home residents.
“It’s calming for people, and it gets residents outside,” says Marc Cohen, co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, who participated in the ride. “It’s almost like a nature walk for people who may be immobile.”
During the Joy Ride event, about 50 people gathered on campus for breakfast and a screening of the documentary Cycling Without Age. Then about 20 people—a mix of LeadingAge members, UMass Boston faculty and staff, CWA volunteers, and older adults from the CWA network—headed outside for the ride. The day was bright and brisk, and the older adults riding in the trishaws bundled up with blankets and enjoyed the sun on their faces.
“For older adults in assisted living, cycling is a welcome respite from what, for many, is a largely indoor routine,” says Martin Hansen-Verma, program manager of the UMass Boston Gerontology Department. “It’s a chance to experience a sense of freedom and exploration, and connect with others in that active, joyful mode.”
CWA has about 3,500 chapters across 41 countries. Together, those chapters have more than 39,000 volunteers trained to provide rides to people living in nursing homes.
“A bike ride may seem like a little thing, but it can set someone’s mood,” Cohen says. “It can make people feel seen, make them feel important enough for someone to take on a short ride. It’s really a great thing.”