Natalie's Everyday Heroes: 'Cycling Without Age' makes riding for everyone

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- It's the time of year when kids can't wait to hop on a bike and feel the wind in their hair.

An organization in Walworth County is bringing back memories of that childhood pleasure for the elderly and people with Alzheimer's and dementia.

It's called Cycling Without Age, and for this husband and wife team, it's a family affair.

"One, two, three. Oh, there you go," a volunteer said, helping a passenger onto the seat of a special bicycle.

The adventure begins with the click of a seatbelt buckle, and the push of a pedal.

"How you guys doing up there? Ok," asks bike pilot, Jon Newman.

Newman is in the driver's seat on this day's adventure.

"We get to go up a little hill, then down a little hill," he called to his passengers.

He’s aiming to inspire moments like this.

"I feel like I'm driving again," one of the riders exclaimed.

"Getting wind blowing in their hair, and sun shining on their face," Newman said that's what this experience is all about.

These enthusiastic riders are all residents at Arbor Village of Geneva Crossing in Lake Geneva.

Eric Russow is one of the founders of this chapter.

"This is our third year," he said proudly.

Along with his wife, Bernadette Russow.

"Well, sometimes I turn very quickly and wipe the tears," she said.

They bring these bikes here through their chapter of Cycling Without Age.

"First year, we gave about 400 rides. Last year, we gave about 700 rides," Eric Russow said. "This year, we're planning on over 1,400 rides."

The program's growing popularity, a testament to its mission.

"Getting the people out of the isolation, breaking the boredom for them, makes such a huge difference," he said.

The Russow's have been married for 57 years.

"This just gives me something to keep me out of Bernadette's hair," he said with a laugh.

Joking aside -- it's a very personal project for the couple -- who cared for Bernadette's father, who had Alzheimer's. She said the rides have big results.

"First of all, it gives them back their memory," she said.

She remembers one woman -- who couldn't speak -- vividly.

"She had a phone. So that she could literally tell me her story. And she had been an avid rider. She rode around Lake Superior. We brought back the memories," she said.

And the fresh air certainly did seem to get the riders talking, bringing back memories from 40 years ago.

"My husband caught a 50-inch muskie. Ok I caught a six-and-a-half-pound walleye," a rider told Newman.

"The joy that you see from the couples, from the people getting off, you can see that there's a great bonding typically between the two people riding together," Eric Russow said.

And that's what Newman sees, too.

"You just sit and talk with them, and you learn their stories, share a little bit of your story with them," Newman said.

His own mother is among the many people he's pedaled around.

"I get to ride a bike. I get to volunteer. I get to give my mom rides. And I get to put smiles on people's faces," he said with a smile.

So many faces, in fact, Cycling Without Age is upgrading from two bikes to four right now.

Eventually they'd like to have six -- so they can take more people out.

"Sometimes if we have enough time, they'll try to sneak in a second or third time," Eric Russow said.

A simple way to keep life moving, one ride at a time.

"This is just a slow way of saying thank you for everything you've ever done," Bernadette Russow said.

For more information on Cycling Without Age in Walworth County, visit their website.

If you'd like to nominate an Everyday Hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected].