If you used to love cycling but just can’t hack it physically anymore, take heart.
A new volunteer program through the Iowa City Bike Library has your back.
Armed now with two special three-wheeled bicycles called “trishaws,” the local fledgling Cycling Without Age Johnson County (CWA-JC) organization is gearing up for an active summer of getting seniors and others unable to ride a bike independently back to nature.
With the Ned Ashton House as its base of operations, this volunteer-run group will give 30–40-minute rides to mobility-challenged passengers from nursing homes, memory care facilities and other senior living developments, as well as to others of any age with developmental differences.
“I know that feeling when you can’t get out and feel the sun in your face,” co-founder Nancy Footner told me. “Your senses just get dull.”
Footner can speak first-hand about the struggle. She was hit by a car as a pedestrian in San Francisco at age 30 and spent nearly two years recovering, much of that time confined to a wheelchair and suffering “nature deprivation.” That memory later prompted her to spark a local Cycling Without Age chapter.
Unlike a rickshaw bike, trishaws seat their two riders in front of a pedaling volunteer pilot, as the drivers are called. At a substantial cost of about $14,000 each, these high-quality, Danish-manufactured bikes offer electric assist for the pilot and a comfortable, smooth ride for normally homebound passengers.
To make sure a columnist got the full experience, Footner and co-founder Michelle Voss encouraged me to take a ride to test it out.
Trishaw rides are comfortable for conversation
Voss was our pilot as we gathered recently near Ashton House, a starting point for most rides, thanks to city cooperation. She shuttled a friend and I on the Iowa River Trail south around the river bend, then north, crossing the pedestrian bridge toward the Thornberry Dog Park area and back.
You immediately respect the wide-open view, cruising along with nothing to block your line of sight – specifically the rear end of a peddler − as you might contend with in a rickshaw.
You also relish the spectacular perspective of rushing river water, towering trees, green meadows, winding trails, and of course, the myriad of cyclists and joggers along the route, most offering a friendly wave.
“We get a lot of smiles from pedestrians and people in cars when we are out on the trishaws,” said Voss.
But the other perk, and one of the keys as far as the Cycling Without Age group sees it, is the opportunity for human social interaction. You can converse comfortably with your riding partner, plus the pilot’s comments and observations are easy to hear. In a rickshaw, the driver’s input is harder to enjoy, even when they turn their head and try to speak.
My friend and I agreed that the ride was terrific.
Idea for trishaw group inspired by PBS video
So how did this Iowa City group come to be?
“In February of 2023, I saw a PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) video that went to my heart,” said Footner.
The video detailed how the Danish founder of Cycling Without Age, Ole Kassow, built a worldwide network of chapters in 3,000 cities in 50 countries. Kassow, who had seen how his own father’s multiple sclerosis had limited his mobility, recognized the same problem in other older people and started CWA to help.
“Everyone has the right to feel the full wind in their hair,” said Footner, quoting Kassow and the international CWA organization’s promotional catch phrase.
Kassow has sown principles into his organization, such as social inclusiveness, slow riding, storytelling, intergenerational passengers, and the dismantling of barriers to increase public access. Footner figured that was a great fit for Iowa City.
After she contacted the Iowa City Bike Library, its director, Audrey Wiedemeier, matched her with Voss, a psychology professor at the University of Iowa and an avid cyclist. As a researcher of aging brains, Voss knows the value of getting seniors outdoors.
In the fall of 2023, the two women co-founded the first CWA chapter in Iowa.
Early on, volunteer Jim Cochran piloted a trishaw owned by Legacy Senior Living on behalf of the new group. Footner said his experiences provided needed information on how to train pilots and develop routes. Later, the founders crafted an organizational agreement with the Bike Library to serve as fiscal agent for the program, plus they formed a steering committee.
By June of last year, the group had purchased one trishaw through financial help from private donations, the Bike Library and Environmental Advocates, Inc. The second trishaw, which can carry a passenger seated in a wheelchair, arrived in October thanks to an American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) grant.
Iowa City trishaw group has 20 pilots
The Iowa City CWA gave more than 50 rides in 2025, but spent more time spreading the word, finding and training more pilots and working on insurance issues. Already this year, clients of Arc of Southeast Iowa have enjoyed trishaw trips.
“We asked for volunteers in March of this year,” said Footner, “and got a tremendous turnout.”
The group now has a corps of 20 certified pilots who peddle the trishaws, with Greg Schmidt as trainer.
“As an organization, we’re in the toddler stage of our development, so we have lots of room to grow,” she said.
During the next few years, the group hopes to expand its fleet of trishaws and establish more hubs where the trishaws can be stored, possibly near new trail routes where the rides can start and finish. The CWA here would also like to acquire a van to transport trishaws and expand their outreach throughout Johnson County.
“Right now, we’re looking for a treasurer for our chapter who could liaison with our insurance company,” Footner said. “And, of course, donations are always welcome since we are an all-volunteer operated non-profit and our rides are free.”
Head to www.icbikelibrary.org and find the Cycling Without Age link for more info. To volunteer, donate, or book a ride, contact cyclingwithoutage.jc@gmail.com .
Richard Hakes is a longtime columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City trishaw rides expand access for seniors, disabled
Reporting by Richard Hakes, Special to the Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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By Richard Hakes, Special to the Press-Citizen | USA TODAY Network
