We launched Cycling Without Age Sheffield in spring 2019 with Rhubarb the tri-bike. We now have a fleet of three bike, two based in Sharrow and one in Lowedges. While our core service is providing weekly rides out for care home residents, we also schedule irregular park-based sessions, and ‘Doorstep Rides’ for people with mobility challenges living independently in Lowedges or Jordanthorpe.
We take out passengers with a range of mobility restrictions and also living with dementia. Passengers need to be able to shuffle backwards into the seat (care home staff can help with this) and support themselves to sit in the well padded seat with a lap belt. We have a very warm blanket. We don’t generally go out if it is raining, but if we get caught in a shower we have ponchos we can use.
Sorry we can’t do everything…
Due to the size of Sheffield and the capacity of our volunteers we are not able to provide rides for individuals unless they/you are living in Lowedges, Jordanthorpe, Norton and some parts of Greenhill. However, if you do live in these areas, or know someone there who would enjoy a ride, please do get in touch with us!
We also can’t offer regular rides for care homes which are more than a short ride from either of our bases, though see what we can offer as a ‘park based ride’ below.
Below is a brief overview of these different services, with a warm invitation to use our Contact Us form to get in touch if you would like to partner with us.
Care Home rides
We love working with care homes to give rides out to their residents. We usually have a weekly slot and a few different parks that we visit: the Botanical Gardens, Endcliffe Park, the General Cemetery in S11/S10 and Graves and Greenhill parks in S8. From our Sharrow base we often can bring two bikes together, which usually means it’s an outing with one care home member of staff accompanying three residents. Family members are also welcome as passengers.
This is what Roy of Grange Crescent Residential Care Home had to say about his ride:
“As an OAP I have been amazed to see little children riding 2-wheeled bicycles. I got my first bike at age 11 (passed the 11-plus!). Now on Thursday from 10:30-12:30 I and my cosy companion can mount the 3 cosy seats on a 3-wheeler ridden by a healthy young woman who volunteers for “Cycling Without Age Sheffield”. We trickled through the traffic to Endcliffe Park where there are many children riding bikes. We enjoy them and the ponds, streams, fish and ducks and eventually end up in the lovely woodland and arrive at the War Memorial. It attracts many of course who are moved by the words, sculptures and flags. As an ex-lance corporal in the infantry, I wanted to salute but I salute the system that got me to such a moving place on a 3-wheeler.”
Park based sessions
While our regular care home rides are limited to care home partners living close to our bases, with a bit of notice we can offer one off ride sessions within one of the lovely Sheffield Parks, usually Weston Park but others are available! We arrange to meet a group at the park bringing one or two bikes. You organise transport to/from, and we can give any number of loops round the park, swapping pairs on and off the bike. also run frequent ride sessions in the Botanical Gardens and Norfolk Park for the Age UK Wellbeing Centres located in these, and other various park events especially in the summer. Ideas are very welcome!
We also run frequent ride sessions in the Botanical Gardens and Norfolk Park for the Age UK Wellbeing Centres located in these, and other various park events especially in the summer. Ideas are very welcome!
Doorstep Rides
We also run a ‘Doorstep Rides’ service in Lowedges and Jordanthorpe, offering rides to people of any age living independently but who find it tricky to get out. We are collaborating with The Terminus Initiative who provide an introduction service for us, and a pilot is matched with an interested local resident. We start with a short taster session just outside the person’s home. If everyone enjoys it, each pilot and resident arranges a number of rides over a couple of months, visiting parks such as Greenhill Park and Graves Park. Friends and partners are very welcome to come along. If you are interested in arranging rides for yourself or other people please contact Joy at the Terminus Initiative http://www.terminusinitiative.org or via Facebook.
We are also very keen to recruit new pilots specifically for the Doorstep Rides and who would enjoy working in a one-to-one way and preferably living local or nearby to S8.
CWA Sheffield 