Come for a ride with us today…
About the Big Red Bike project
The Big Red Bike, is a volunteer run charitable organisation that was set up in 2018 by a group of cycling enthusiasts from in and around Lichfield.
The original idea for the project came from a TED talk delivered by Ole Kassow who heads up Cycling without Age in Copenhagen.
In February 2018 Ole visited the city to talk about his project and loan us a trishaw bike. Along with our friends from Lichfield Re-Cycle we tested out the bike and showcased it to many organisations in Lichfield. The interest was overwhelming and so the decision was made to raise funds to purchase a bike for Lichfield. Our new bike arrived in March 2020 and have been waiting until now to start taking people out on rides.
Our project aims to take older adults in particular but not exclusively on short rides in a two-seater electric tricycle called a trishaw.
The trishaw is controlled by a volunteer trained cyclist known as a pilot. Local residents, representative of care homes and sheltered housing and other partner organisations in the Lichfield area, will contact us to connect with our volunteers to book a ride for family, friends and members of the community.
Carers and family members will be are able to join the ride too and the route where possible can be determined by the passengers.
This service will help to improve the quality of participants lives and have a beneficial effect on the health of those people with limited mobility and whom are also experiencing the feeling of loneliness and isolation.
Who will the project help?
What else is there to know?
If you are, or know someone who is the below, then we would love to cycle you around our beautiful city:
• People who have enjoyed cycling throughout their lives who can no longer cycle but still like to accompany cycling groups
• Any disabled people and their carers/family members
• People experiencing dementia and their carers
• Parents and children
• Anyone else in the community who would enjoy this experience
It will provide opportunities for people in the area of all ages to volunteer and connect with people within their communities.
All pilots will be fully trained in their responsibilities including safe riding, assisting passengers in getting into and out of the trishaw, customer care and dealing with emergencies.
The trishaw ride experience is focused on kindness, slowness, conversation, building trust through relationships, the benefits of fresh air and being able to have some fun.
So please do sign up or share our details with someone else who it can help!
Our project’s other aim…
