Biciclistas de Corella and Alhama High School organized on Saturday, December 15, at the Young Center of Corella the presentation and general training of Cycling Without Age (CWA), an international movement that fosters intergenerational relationships and claims for elderly people “the right to wind in the hair”. Pedaling aimlessly, with no rush and in company creates a bond between pilots and passengers that leads to living special moments, which are reflected in a notebook of personal experiences.
A cross-generational group of twenty-two people participated in the theoretical training to join CWA. Five more Biciclistas practiced with our “Yayacleta” (‘Nanacycle’), the trishaw we´ve got thanks to Erasmus project, because they had finished their training in Zaragoza on December 1st but needed to practice more. Corella, our lovely 8,000-inhabitant town in Northern Spain, has become the fourth population in the country to own a trishaw and to open a chapter of Cycling Without Age. Later on, eight IES Alhama students and a bunch of trainees went to visit our elderly people but… let´s read a student´s account of that unforgettable December morning:
We went to «Hogar San José» retirement home to make a brief presentation about our Erasmus project. We explained the different organizations that work with us, the objectives and the activities we plan to implement.
Right after the brief presentation, we entertained our elders with Berber dances, magic tricks, Navarrese “jotas” (typical songs from our region) and a cute bingo made with letters instead of numbers.
Finally, we showed them the tricycle and it drew a big smile on their face knowing that they will have the chance to go for a ride in the near future. A cute lady asked several times: “When’s our turn to enjoy that weird tricycle??”
It was so sad to say goodbye… We all gave them a big kiss and a big hug.
Inés Belahrizi
