Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

Fighting Loneliness With Free Bike Rides

John Seigel-Boettner, a 70 year old coordinator in Santa Barbara, rides a special three wheeled electric bicycle called a trishaw that has two extra seats upfront where elderly riders sit and enjoy the scenery while he pedals them around town. He’s part of Cycling Without Age, a movement that started in Copenhagen in 2012 when a Danish man named Ole Kassow borrowed a rickshaw and offered an elderly gentleman from a care home a ride, inspired by watching his own father become increasingly isolated after developing multiple sclerosis. The simple idea spread across the world and today the program spans more than 3,600 chapters and 50,000 volunteers in 41 countries including 25 U.S. states, all sharing five guiding principles of generosity, slowness, storytelling, relationships, and without age. Studies have shown that participants experience real improvements in mood and well being after rides, with one comprehensive study measuring a striking shift in life satisfaction that’s greater than that of the world’s happiest nations.

In Santa Barbara, Seigel-Boettner coordinates 60 volunteer pilots and 17 trishaws, with riders ranging from a five year old boy on a feeding tube who wanted to ride to school with his friends to 97 year old Elizabeth Wright who has been riding with him for many years and waves to her favorite street musician as they pass. The owner of Wright’s senior home asked to purchase a trishaw after seeing the first ride because it was the first time he ever saw some of the residents giggle and laugh. While the trishaws cost anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 dollars each, Kassow points out that when you consider the impact of one trishaw and how much money people otherwise spend on elder care, it’s actually not a lot. For Seigel-Boettner, each ride is a chance to bridge the gap between older people and everyone else, and he says he comes back from each ride completely changed because society is missing that connection.

PrevPreviousFifth Jaguar Spotted In Arizona
NextThis Church Plans To Build And Help Those Without A HomeNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

A Boy Who Hasnt Cut His Hair Since The Pandemic Just Donated Six Years Of Growth To Kids With Cancer

April 21, 2026

When the pandemic closed barbershops and salons in 2020, a three-year-old boy in Suffolk, England, simply never went back, letting his blond hair grow quietly through every year of school until it reached all the way down to his hips. Six years later, nine-year-old Noah finally sat down in a

Read More
Happy News

The Principal Who Took A Bullet For His Students Just Got Crowned Prom King

April 21, 2026

When a gunman entered the lobby of Pauls Valley High School in Oklahoma and pointed a weapon at students, 60-year-old Principal Kirk Moore did not hesitate for a single second. He charged directly at the attacker, tackled him to the ground, and held him there until police arrived, taking a

Read More
Happy News

Roman Reigns Broke A Guinness World Record At WrestleMania And Walked Out As Champion

April 20, 2026

Roman Reigns headlined WrestleMania for the sixth consecutive time on Saturday night in Las Vegas, cementing a record that may never be broken in professional wrestling and capping the achievement with one of the most celebrated victories of his career. Reigns defeated CM Punk in the main event of WrestleMania

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.