Ebikes, E-Trikes and E-Cargoes: a Great Resource for the Elderly

Seniors would hardly bike without e-assistance, especially in hilly places. Discover how ebikes can do much more for them.

Just look who’s riding those ebikes

People in their 60s and even older are the biggest category of ebike owners, approximately 40% of the total in Europe. Even if you don’t trust statistics, all it takes is watching the next ebike riders passing by to realize that.

Ebikes are a wonderful means of practicing a sport without putting too much pressure on your heart, lungs and muscles, avoiding unnecessary pain and fatigue and even dangerous excesses of physical effort.  They are also an economical, ecological and handy way of moving around keeping healthy and fit. No matter how you feel, thanks to their adjustable motor assistance, a few kilometers riding your ebike can make you feel better.

Last but not least, seniors are the wealthiest category of people in Europe, being able to easily afford beautiful but not so inexpensive ebikes.

E-trikes can do wonders for reduced mobility people

Life is not easy for people over 80. For them, cars are no longer very enjoyable, since they become quickly hot in the sun and cold in the winter. Riding them, be it as passenger or as driver, can give nausea and be unhealthy, especially in the traffic, where the air is polluted. The e-trike can be a very enjoyable and pleasant way of getting around, it lets you discover every corner of your surroundings, parking very close to your destination, enjoying fresh air, most times away from noisy and toxic traffic. As an e-trike passenger, you have a 180° view of the landscape, way much broader than what you can get riding in a car, where you are kind of boxed in a steel and glass cage. Find more about cargo eBikes usage here.

The fantastic experience of cycling without age

Cyclingwithoutage was founded in Denmark in 2012. Ole Kassow had met Thorkild, a 97-year-old gentleman living in a nursing home. Ole realized that in the 50s and in the 60s bikes were the most common means of transport in Europe, although they were progressively abandoned, but had made a comeback in Copenhagen in the 70s and in the 80s, and nowadays are still the preferred means of transportation. He realized that Thorkild must have enjoyed biking too and he probably missed it.

So one morning of August 2012 he arrived at the nearby nursing home with an e-trike, or electric trishaw he had rented, and proposed to the nursing home staff to invite residents for a ride on the trishaw. “That seems like a great idea”, answered a nurse, who immediately introduced him to Gertrude, a resident. He took her for a one hour ride, what made her extremely happy. The following day the nurse called Ole, asking what he had done to Gertrude to make her so happy, since all the residents now wanted a ride too. Ole started offering free rides to the nursing home residents in his spare time. That enabled him to know Copenhagen in a way he had never experienced before, making friends and learning from the itineraries demanded by the elderly. So he wrote a letter with photos to Copenhagen city government, asking them to finance an e-trike. Soon he got a call: they offered him five e-trikes for five nursing homes instead of one. Then he organized a ride with 10 residents, 15 volunteers and some families biking along. Two television chains, newspapers and even the BBC radio reported the event. Pretty soon he had 30 volunteers. Cycling without age was born. Doctors reported that after a ride, even dementia seemed to recede. They made a trip from Denmark to Hamburg, 300 km, with some 50 trishaws and 30 elderly residents. Later, it was the turn of a 250-mile trip from Rønde, Denmark, to Arendal, Norway. Read more clicking on the above-mentioned link if you like.

Cycling without age is now active in 39 countries, with more than 4,000 pilot-volunteers, and keeps expanding. Ole Kassow says that he learns a lot from the stories elderly people are sharing with him while riding. They even help him discover places and activities of his city he would have never thought of.

E-trikes could be taxing the elderly around, and even more

Also for elderly people leaving at home and being still able to walk conveniently, riding in e-trike could be an occasion to enjoy their cities, pleasantly buy groceries or do some shopping. E-trikes pilots could be relatives, friends or even people earning some extra money, like with Uber drivers and writers.
E-cargoes, especially for elderly people no longer able to drive, are a practical and pleasant way to go buying groceries or simply for strolling around the city for shopping, and so on.

Fancy inviting granny & grandpa for a ride?