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

Animal Shelters Just Saved 34,000 More Pets Than Last Year And It Is The Best News In Years

April 19, 2026

American animal shelters just recorded their most life-saving year in recent history, and the numbers are giving animal lovers across the country genuine reason to celebrate. According to new data from the Best Friends Animal Society, 34,000 fewer dogs and cats were unnecessarily euthanized in U.S. shelters in 2025 compared

Read More
Happy News

Scientists Just Discovered A Protein That Has Been Silently Aging Your Immune System And They Found How To Stop It

April 19, 2026

Scientists at the University of Tokyo and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered an unexpected way that the immune system ages, and in doing so they may have uncovered a new path toward keeping it young for much longer. The culprit turns out to be a protein called MLKL,

Read More
Happy News

Churches Are Turning Their Empty Land Into Affordable Homes And It Is Working

April 19, 2026

Across the United States, a quiet movement is turning empty church parking lots, unused land, and underutilized properties into something communities desperately need: affordable homes. Faith communities have long served as centers of support for people in need, and a growing number of congregations are discovering that their land itself

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.