Monmouth’s ‘Cycling Without Age’ scheme welcomes its first passenger

Monmouth’s Bridges Centre has launched the first Cycling Without Age scheme in Wales, which allows the opportunity for elderly and less-abled residents of Monmouth to be chauffeured in trishaw bikes by generous, local volunteers.

Bridges Centre is an independent Monmouth-based charity whose aim has always been to enhance the wellbeing of the local community. Their recent Cycling Without Age scheme aims to offer the opportunity for older people, or those with mobility difficulties, the chance to get out of their homes, meet new people, reconnect with their community and nature and have some fun. 

The Cycling Without Age scheme was originally set up in 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark, when local entrepreneur Ole Kassow saw that many local older people wanted to get back into cycling but with limited mobility, an ordinary bike was unsuitable. For many people, having been stuck at home for an extended period of time, this is the chance to meet new people and see parts of their community they would never had had access to, being the highlight of their week. 

The scheme also has partnerships with three local businesses to make trips even more enjoyable. If the bike stops at Monmouth coffee shop “Quench”, volunteers and passengers can have a free tea, coffee or ice-cream. Similarly, if a stop is made at “MonTeas” both passenger and pilot will receive a free sample of tea, and if they stop at “Wye Weight” they will receive a small bag of dried fruit or nuts to snack on during the remainder of the trip.

The Lord Lieutenant of Gwent, Brigadier Robert Aitken, attended the Cycling Without Age launch, and said: “I’m so please to be involved, in the smallest way, in this project. It was lovely meeting such a delightful bunch of people, all inspired by this project, and all willing to contribute their time and effort in making this scheme work. Thank you to the local businesses, including MonTeas, Quench and Wye Weight who have made a generous offer that if you stop at their shops whilst on the Trishaw bike, you will receive free samples, which will hopefully encourage the other businesses in Monmouth to do the same as it is a wonderful exemplar of what community spirit is all about.”

There are plans to expand this scheme to other towns in Monmouthshire with bikes being ordered for Caldicot and Abergavenny later in the year to enable more people across the county to have the opportunity of being a part of this rewarding scheme, as a volunteer or passenger.