Good Sam Color Jam brightens drizzly Saturday morning
“Jam” up and jelly tight is a quirky expression that can be used to explain when things “just feel right.”
Walkers and runners had a jam up and jelly tight type of Saturday morning, August 27, doing something just right by taking part in the 2016 Good Sam Color Jam.
In doing so, they also brightened a gray and drizzly Saturday morning – and – were active participants in a fit and healthy fundraiser.
The Good Samaritan Society of Mountain Lake hosted the event to raise funds for their facility. All funds raised will go toward a specially-designed rickshaw bicycle that will give The Village residents and The Lodge tenants the opportunity to enjoy a volunteer-driven bicycle ride around Mountain Lake.
Gettin’ colorful
The two-mile walk – or 5K run – were not timed events; but were only used as a way for those of all ages and abilities who took part to come out, have fun and get colorful – all for a good cause.
Leading the two-mile color walk was 2016 Miss Mountain Lake Danica Dick., while 2016 Miss Mountain Lake First Runner-Up Emily Jahnke, paced the 5K color run. There were six color stations. The color powder used is 100% safe – and washable.
Mountain Lake Family Fitness was the event’s primary sponsor. Additional race sponsors included Mountain Lake Fire & Rescue, Mountain Lake Area Foundation, United Prairie Bank, Bargen Inc., GWRA (Gold Wing Riders Association) Minnesota Chapter C, Progressive Chiropractic, Salon 310, Triumph State Bank-Darfur Office, Hometown Sanitation and Maynard’s Food Center.
Cycling ’round the town
The idea of the rickshaw bicycle comes from Cycling Without Age (www.cyclingwithoutage.org), a movement started in 2012 by Ole Kassow of Denmark. Ole wanted to help the elderly get back on their bicycles, but he had to find a solution to their limited mobility. The answer was a rickshaw and he started offering free bike rides to the local nursing home residents.
He then got in touch with a civil society consultant, Dorthe Pedersen, at the municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark, who was intrigued by the idea and together they bought the first five rickshaws and launched Cycling Without Age, which has now spread to all corners of Denmark, and has now spread to Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Italy, Singapore, United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Slovakia, Netherlands, France, Chile, several other countries around the world – and hopefully, soon to Mountain Lake.
Volunteers (pilots) sign up for bike rides with the elderly through a simple booking system as often or as rarely as they want to. It’s all driven by people’s own motivation. As of November 2015, more than 63 of Denmark’s 98 municipalities offered Cycling Without Age from well over 400 rickshaws – and the numbers are still growing. More than 3,000 pilots ensure that the elderly get out of their nursing homes, out on the bikes to enjoy the fresh air and the community around them. They give them the right to wind in their hair.
Photo gallery of the 2016 Color Jam event
