WELCOME SUMMER TIME!
JULY started off with a bang (well almost July) with our Summer Trishaw Promotional Event at Stoneridge Manor on Sunday, June 30. From 10 am until 2 pm, CWALC and the Stoneridge Manor Recreation Department encouraged the residents and family members to enjoy the outdoor festivities and go for a Demo ride in the trishaw. The front of Stoneridge Manor was covered with colourful balloons that framed a CWALC poster, as well as a large Canadian flag.
The local McDonald’s generously donated cookies, cartons of coffee, hot water for tea, as well as cups, stirring sticks, milk and sugar. Lemonade and homemade cookies were also available but the “pièce de resistance” was a beautifully decorated cake with Cycling Without Age Lanark County printed in icing and a picture of a pilot pedaling a trishaw with a person in it.
While some residents waited for their rides, others were content to sit outside and enjoy the warm sunshine while listening to Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Neil Diamond and other musical legends who joined us from a stereo system.
It was a team effort and a fun day was enjoyed by all!
CWALC joined Carleton Place Band’s Summer Concert Series at Riverside Park on the evening of Monday, July 8. The trishaw was there to promote awareness, as well as to provide free rides for the concert attendees from the parking lot to the grassy area. The trailer provided additional attention for CWALC. CWALC will be back again on Monday, July 22, and invites everyone to join us at Riverside Park. What could be more pleasant than to be serenaded by popular tunes while going for an evening ride.
DEDICATED Captains, Trainers, and Fearless Leaders Treff Peters and Mark Manzon have supported CWA Lanark County since 2018. Treff’s discovery of CWA was via internet research. When he found out about the organization, he thought about his early days as a volunteer with a Rotary Club when assigned to visit a blind nursing home resident. Conversation was limited and Treff would have welcomed the opportunity to take his resident out for a ride in the trishaw. The resident passenger could have heard the birds, smelled flora and fauna and felt the “wind in his hair”.
Mark Manson, mechanic extraordinaire, became involved with CWA Lanark County through his friendship with Treff. Mark has always been an avid cyclist and saw the organization as a way to share his passion for cycling with others. Mark’s mechanical skills were invaluable when Treff ordered the first trishaw (in parts) from China. Many hours and three days later, Treff and Mark finished building the first trishaw.
Both Mark and Treff agree that the best part of CWALC is getting our elderly neighbours out for rides and talking to them about their life experiences. When asked about their vision for CWALC, Treff and Mark shared a vision that included a trishaw for Broadview Nursing Home and a wheelchair-accessible trishaw for Stoneridge Manor.
All of us at CWALC share the vision of more trishaws for Lanark County. With support from our donors, sponsors and community, we hope to make this vision become a reality.
Happy summer everyone and safe riding!
Catherine Cosstick, CWA Lanark County Pilot