[Program] Cycling Without Age Canada

Cycling Without Age Canada (CWACA) is a national organization aimed at reducing social isolation and increasing both mental and physical health for all Canadians. Using specialized electric pedal-assisted trishaws each bicycle can carry up to two passengers on an adventure previously unimagined. Envision harkening back to youthful memories of exploration and discovery thought forever lost. Local volunteers called ‘pilots’ visit care homes, senior centers and community groups to offer rides on the trishaw. Being outdoors, reconnecting in the community and with the ‘pilots’ nurtures emotional well-being. Rides make passengers smile, bring back their memories, and allow them to be part of society again and thereby renewing their appetite for life itself. 

Mission

CWA leads positive social change in partnership with local chapters to enhance the quality of life for all Canadians one bicycle ride at a time. Through active citizenship, we increase awareness, advance philanthropy, and align key partnerships.

Vision

Every Canadian has the opportunity to feel the wind in their hair.

Guiding Principles

Generosity: Cycling Without Age is based on generosity and kindness. It starts with the obvious generous act of taking one or two mobility-impaired people out on a bike ride. It’s a simple act that everyone can do.

Slowness: Slowness allows you to sense the environment, be present in the moment and it allows people you meet along the way to be curious and gain knowledge about Cycling Without Age because you make time to stop and talk.

Storytelling: Passengers, especially older adults have so many stories that will be forgotten if we don’t reach out and listen to them. We tell stories, we listen to stories on the bike and we also document the stories when we share them via word of mouth or on social media.

Relationships: Cycling Without Age is about creating a multitude of new relationships: between generations, among people of all ages, between pilots and passengers, care home employees and family members. Relationships build trust, happiness and quality of life.

Without Age: Life unfolds at all ages, young and old, and can be thrilling, fun, sad, beautiful and meaningful. Cycling Without Age is about letting people age in a positive context – fully aware of the opportunities that lie ahead when interacting in their local community.

CWA Canada Land Acknowledgement: From coast to coast to coast, we acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territory of all the First Nation, Inuit and Métis people that call this land home. We honour and thank all of the past, present and future generations of Indigenous people who have lived, gathered and stewarded these lands for thousands of years. May this acknowledgement demonstrate our commitment to working to dismantle ongoing legacies of oppression and inequities, and our dedication to moving forward in allyship with Indigenous communities in the spirit of reconciliation.