Trike My Way Lets Adults Of All Ages Ride Like Kids Again

BETHESDA, MD — Colorful flags weave around the near empty parking lot at Candy Cane Park, attached to what looks like a reclining chair on wheels. In it, Chevy Chase resident Wayne Hayward is peddling and smiling.

He’s in one of his recumbent trikes, a three-wheeled device that allows cyclists to ride with better support and comfort than a traditional bike or trike. Hayward is a cyclist who has competed in the Cape Epic — an eight-day mountain biking endurance competition in South Africa, where Hayward is from. He was also a professional cycling photographer, capturing images of people on their bikes for 25 years.

“I was that guy hanging off the back of a motor bike photographing the pros,” Hayward said with a laugh.

He hung up his camera when he moved to the United States with his wife, who is from America. Since then he’s been working in bike shop and helping people get on the road, he said. When Hayward had a lower back injury in 2018, he decided to give a recumbent bike a try. He had no pain.

“That’s what sparked the idea,” Hayward said of his business, Trike My Way, which offers recumbent trike tours.

He realized that there were two groups of people who might interested in a recumbent trike tour: people who wanted to get on a bike and couldn’t because of an injury or other physical limitation, and people who want to trike but can’t get started because of the cost.

One of Hayward’s trikes costs $7,500 — that’s with all of the best add-ons and outfitting, but the fact remains that it’s an expensive hobby. Hayward decided to invest in another trike and see what the interest was in tours.

Trike My Way takes riders on trails in the DMV — from the National Mall to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Hayward has done it. He has some suggested tours and prices, but he really tries to cater it to the group and what they might want to do. All of his tours are safely away from cars — he sticks to trails for most of them, or sidewalks that he knows are wide and typically aren’t crowded.

Hayward says his tours are targeted toward older families who might want to get out and active like they used to, such as adult children with elderly parents who might not be able to get on a bike anymore. With the trikes, the family could go out for a ride like they used to.

“Those are the kids I’m looking for,” Hayward said, noting that his trikes are not for actual children. “Let’s face it: no matter how old you are we remember what it’s like to ride a bike. The thrill of it.”

Hayward’s neighbors, Aletta and Alan, went out on a tour with him last summer. Aletta said she isn’t really a cyclist, but wanted to give it a try.

“He makes it easy,” she said. “He shows you how to do it.”

They did a tour that required going over a bridge, which was closed when they wanted to return home. Hayward quickly found a crab shack for them to eat lunch at, and they relaxed until they were able to cross back home.

“He caters it to you and is flexible,” said Aletta. “He does a good job teaching and is patient.”

Along with recreational tours, Hayward has done rehabilitative rides. He met one woman who was a cyclist at heart but had both of her knees replaced. She needed a slower start back into cycling. First they went to an empty parking lot so she could get her bearings on the trike. Quickly, she was able to ride it on trails and go for longer trips. It got her where she wanted to be.

“This is what got her back,” Hayward said, motioning to the trike. “She’s back on her bike.”

Hayward, like many business owners, took a hit when the pandemic started. Although his business is outside, people were squeamish about the idea of touching equipment other people might be using. He understood and has lain low for the year, not pushing his advertising or looking for potential customers. He mostly took his friends out for rides.

Now, with CDC guidance changing and businesses reopening, he’s ready to get going in full force again. He’s looking to do a trike brewery tour and find new customers who want to try out his routes, or make their own. He's cheerful when he talks about his trikes and the fun they can give to people who thought they might not ever have it again.

“When you ride one of these you become a kid again,” Hayward said.

Visit Trike My Way’s website for more information about tours and pricing.