EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Western Mass Wheelers officially launched a new innovative outdoor program, offering seniors in our area safe and scenic rides on custom-adapted tricycles. A ribbon cutting was held on Thursday afternoon — celebrating inclusion, activity, and showing how exercise can help increase senior health.

Western Mass News spoke with Jill Strain, the founder and president of Western Mass Wheelers, who tells us a little about the importance of the event, “everybody loves it. It’s been an absolute joy to see folks that haven’t been outside often or haven’t been on a bike ride in decades to be able to get out there and feel the wind and the sun on their face.”

Strain said she first had this idea years back, when her mom was living with dementia and realized there were very few outdoor activities available to her. She decided then that as a community we could do better for seniors and those with disabilities and is excited to be the change she wished to see.

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