PLATTSBURGH — Cycling Without Age Adirondack Coast recently launched its inaugural sponsorship drive to introduce the organization, recruit volunteers and garner community support from businesses, civic groups and aligned agencies.
“We created our sponsorship form and letter, and we put those into the mail last week,” Rebecca Boire-West said.
“So, they should be hitting their mailboxes. If not already, then very soon. We’re kind of just kicking off our second season, and we’re just very excited to get out there and help spread the word that we exist and what we do to serve the community of getting elder adults and people of all ages, who have limited mobility, out in the community to get some fresh air. Feel the sun on their face – the wind in their hair.”
Ten pilots volunteered last year to drive the trishaws, and another 10 are wanted.
“The more pilots we have the more opportunities we have for the bike to be rolling and providing rides to others,” she said.
“There is in-person and hands-on training that a pilot has to go through. It’s three hours in-person, and then they have additional practice hours, of which they do on their own time following, before they are ready to be able to safely pilot.”
The fledgling nonprofit had a very good start last season serving 186 passengers.
“The ages ranged from age 11 to 103,” she said.
“We had over 350 volunteer hours that was contributed to our organization. It was great. This year, we have two new trishaws added to our fleet. We started with one last year. This year, we get to kick-off our season with a total of three because we were able to obtain two additional trishaws. One of them is a wheelchair model, which is fantastic. So for anyone who is not able to get into the trishaw, we can wheel them right onto the platform, right in their personalized wheelchair, and lock them down, and away we go.”
Passengers racked 171 hours of rides, and their feedback has been “incredible, heartwarming and very humbling,” Boire-West said.
“The pilots are the ones that get to hear that. While you’re on the ride, you hear the conversation. You hear the laughter. They use all the senses. They can’t believe what they’re seeing. They just love what they’re feeling, and they love what they’re smelling. We go by the pine trees, and they smell the pine. This has been a very, very, beneficial to the passengers. Especially with their feedback, they have confirmed that and attest to the positive benefits that it has.”