Peninsula Man Touts ‘Senior Mobility Vehicle’

REDWOOD CITY, CA — Foster Kinney has made an effort to be active most of his life, going back when he swam and ran track competitively in high school.

When the pandemic hit, the 87-year-old Redwood City was only more determined to stay active.

Kinney's new wheels – which Kinney calls his “Senior Mobility Vehicle, or “SMV” – are now helping him getting around.

His Raleigh 3-speed, battery-assisted adult tricycle is turning heads in this Peninsula city.

“It is interesting how often when I sit at a stop sign intersection, cars will actually stop and let me cross, just like a pedestrian,” Kinney said. “Lots of people say, ‘Nice bike!’”

Kinney said it took him around three years to get over his concerns about riding an adult tricycle and researching such bikes.

He had given up riding two-wheeled bikes in 2015, at the urging of his family.

He finally took the plunge in August of 2019.

“I liked it so much that I named it my SMV - Senior Mobility Vehicle,” he said.

“It is especially helpful for liberating seniors with balance problems.”

Kinney is a longtime proponent for lanes that he believes should serve users of bicycles, electric skateboards among other alternatives to cars. He used to attend City Council meetings advocating for what he calls “mobility lanes.”

“I would like to call them ‘mobility lanes,’” he said

“That way the designers would understand that they need to be built to serve a much broader user than the bicyclist.”

Kinney’s SMV is equipped with a large basket he uses to purchase groceries.

“So, this is basically like adding an extra car to my household,” he said.

He believes the battery-assisted tricycle can benefit other seniors who wish to remain active but are concerned about balance issues.

“Aging seniors seem to be prone to balance issues,” Kinney said.

“The SMV can liberate them from being housebound. Now that I have overcome my own concerns, I am ready to help get the word out to other seniors that they consider the liberating feeling of a three-wheeled electric bicycle.”