Cycling Without Age has partnered with Aviva Senior Living in West Hartford.

By Ronni Newton

On a sunny Thursday afternoon, Thomasina Clemons, a resident of Aviva Senior Living in West Hartford, spent some time enjoying the beauty of Elizabeth Park – but getting to the park was just as much a part of the overall positive experience.

“I like the easy ride, and the air,” said Clemons, who arrived at Elizabeth Park and traversed the paths through the gardens as a passenger in a trishaw piloted by Cycling Without Age chapter leader Kevin Sullivan.

“I’m an ambassador for Bike West Hartford. I think Cycling Without Age is a marvelous project. I’m so happy to be a part of it,” she said.

CWA, which is a program of Bike West Hartford, has recently partnered with Aviva Senior Living, which is. located at 1 Hamilton Heights Drive, and Clemons was one of the first residents to take advantage of the opportunity to test out the trishaw – the electric-assisted three-wheeled rickshaw that gives those who may not be able to personally operate a bicycle the opportunity to “feel the wind in their hair” as they visit Elizabeth Park and other area destinations.

West Hartford launched one of the first chapters of CWA in the U.S. in 2015, and Sullivan now serves as chapter leader and trains other volunteer pilots.

Sullivan said he got involved with CWA because he thought it would be a good thing representing cyclists. “But now I just plain like it a lot because I get to meet a lot of really great people,” he said.

Bike West Hartford raises funds to support the program, which includes publicizing it and paying for maintenance and insurance for the trishaw – a combined cost of nearly $1,000 per year.

Aviva Activities Director Maureen Browne-Springer and her colleagues assist residents with scheduling rides and safely boarding the trishaw, which is now kept at the facility.

Maureen Browne-Springer (Aviva Activities Director) and Kevin Sullivan in back row, and Lloyd Smith and Thomasina Clemons in front. Courtesy photo

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