Max Limpus, 10, and Thelma Eiseman, 104, have been close friends since enjoying a relaxing ride together along the seafront.
"He's a lovely boy," Thelma said.
They met at Cycling Without Age Yeppoon, a nationwide volunteer-run initiative where older people, and people with mobility issues, are taken for a ride in a trishaw — a specially designed three-wheeled bike.
More than 300 central Queenslanders, including Max and Thelma, have enjoyed the service since community captain Mary O'Donnell launched the local branch three years ago.
Forging new friendships
Thelma, a former seamstress, is the Yeppoon branch's eldest rider and has loved the experience.
"I enjoyed it. It was lovely, beautiful, scenic," she said.
Thelma has experienced the trishaw a handful of times, but her favourite ride has been alongside her "good friend" Max.
Despite a nine-decade age gap, Max says they get along well and share many common interests.
"I came to one of these bike rides with my grandma to meet her [Thelma] and I liked her," Max said.
"A few times I've gone to her house, and we've played the organ.
"I get to talk to her, which is the best thing."
Mary explains that the friendship that Max and Thelma have developed is just one of many forged through the initiative.
"Thelma is just delightful. She was 103 when she first came, now she's 104 and we're hopeful that on her 105th birthday in March next year we'll be able to take her for another ride," Mary said.
"She's testimony to the fact that so long as people can stand, we can assist them, and their carers can assist them, onto the bikes.
"They've been designed for aged clients, so they're fairly accessible."
The 'highlight' of Keith and Estelle's existence
Cruising alongside the sea, feeling the warmth of the sun and tasting the salt in the air, Keith McLaughlin's heart "beats a little faster".
"We enjoy it so much," he said.
"It's one of the highlights of our existence."
The 84-year-old and his wife Estelle, 79, have been married for 58 years and have "battled with farming" at Thangool, west of Gladstone, for about half of that time.
"We moved here [to Yeppoon], never dreaming that we were ever going to have a house of our own because we virtually had to walk away from a terrible drought," Keith said.
"I love the seaside."
But coastal life has had its ups and downs for the couple who have both experienced serious health problems requiring intensive care.
"I had a real fair-dinkum, no-nonsense stroke about seven years ago," Keith said.
Through the pandemic, illness and personal loss, the retirees have become regular riders.
"It was great somebody cared for us because we'd been ill for so long," Estelle said.
"A house can become a prison, but when you get outside, you're looking at the creation and that's a better feeling.
"You see other lovely things around you, and you don't really think about yourself so much."
Fostering community connection
Though rides are the centrepiece, Mary says the cycling initiative provides the opportunity for people to interact and has proven invaluable
Throughout the peak of the pandemic, many challenges were thrown their way.
"We were affected by COVID-19 restrictions on and off," Mary said.
"We had to keep changing our operations to make sure we honoured that to keep our beautiful companions safe.
"But there were also challenges in terms of people's loneliness [and] people being isolated.
"Encouraging people to come out and feel safe with other people, to connect with other people, was certainly something that we had to think about."
The rides run about once a month, weather permitting, from two locations on the Capricorn Coast, but Mary and the volunteer team work with local retirement villages too.
"I encourage anybody who has a senior [loved one] that can no longer ride a bike, or is mobility challenged, to get in touch," she said.
"We can take you along for the ride with your loved one."
The rides are free thanks to community donations, the Iwasaki Foundation, St Vincent's De Paul Yeppoon and the Livingstone Shire Council.
Marys says older people aren't the only ones who benefit from the rides.
"They do enjoy it, but if you asked any of our volunteers, the joy back is tenfold," she said.
"It's just so heart-warming, it's such a beautiful opportunity and privilege to be able to interact with people and listen to their stories."
Something to look forward to
Keith and Estelle have invited old friends along and made many new ones while enjoying a cup of pay-it-forward coffee.
"It's amazing how people who think they can't [ride], are encouraged and looked after," Keith said.
"You'll be looking at one of these [trishaws] and thinking, 'I can't lift my leg over that', they say, 'Don't worry about that' and they pull the step out."
The duo are looking forward to their next ride.
"You've got to have a plan, so we've got a plan to go for a ride along the seafront because I adore the sea," Keith said.
