Cycle service a path to fun for residents

It was smiles all round last week for 102-year-old Margaret River resident Brian Walley when Cycling Without Age took him out for a spin.

Brian, who lives at BaptistCare Mirrambeena Residential Care in Margaret River, was the first to put his hand up for a trip down memory lane under the pedal-power of volunteers who had travelled from Perth with their special trishaws.

BaptistCare Mirrambeena is hoping to secure funding to purchase one of the special bikes so that a local chapter of Cycling Without Age can be set up to share the three-wheeled fun with others living in the Shire of Augusta Margaret River.

“With two passengers in the front and a volunteer pilot cycling at the back, the trishaw makes bike rides accessible again for those who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to enjoy them,” Megan Turnbull, Lifestyle Coordinator at BaptistCare Mirrambeena said.

“Thanks to our mini trial with two trishaws last week, it’s clear that this initiative would bring a lot of joy and laughter to residents.”

For BaptistCare Mirrambeena resident Dario Mangili and his wife Dori, the trishaw ride brought back fond memories of hopping on their bikes and running away from school to be together.

“Riding on the trishaw was such a special experience for so many of our residents and their families, who relished not only the social aspects and the connection to memories, but also that wonderful feeling of being out on the bike with the wind in their hair,” Megan said.

Among the Margaret River locals joining in the fun were Shire of Augusta Margaret River Councillor David Binks and BaptistCare Mirrambeena Occupational Therapist Sarah Lindsay, along with representatives from local community groups interested in supporting the area’s first Cycling Without Age chapter.