Community
FEATURE RESIDENT
Melanie Wrigglesworth by KRISTA TURCASSO Cycling Without Age began in 2012 by Ole Kassow, who was interested in helping older people experience biking but was limited by their mobility. Through the use of the trishaw, he was able to begin offering free rides to nursing home residents in Copenhagen. From there it spread throughout Denmark, and since 2015 to 50 other countries. Across the world, in our own little town an individual was thinking of creating something similar which led to a Cycling Without Age chapter in Fernie! Melanie Wrigglesworth is originally from Northern Ontario but, “literally moved every 18 months and has lived everywhere in Ontario,” she tells me. “Until I was in grade ten and we moved to Calgary.” Mel’s dad worked for Shell, and while in Ontario she had a passion and interest in ski racing, it wasn’t possible. With the move to Calgary, Mel immediately got into racing out of Nakiska. She attended University, but as she was still racing and then coaching, “it took a really long time to finish! I started in 1994 and graduated in 2008.” With a Bachelor of Science in Geography, Mel was interested in GIS and satellite imagery and began working in that field. “I was surrounded by three screens and thought, ‘this sucks!’ so I changed jobs to train people how to use the software and enjoyed it much more!” Mel and her husband Mike moved overseas for ten years, mainly in Lybia where Mike inspected leaks in water pipelines for the company he works for, Pure Technology. When the Civil War broke out in 2011, they moved back to Canada. “It was too dangerous,” and then to Turkey for a few more years until they decided to settle down in Canada. “We were in Calgary at
Melanie, on the right. Submitted photo first, but I got a job with the Fernie Alpine Ski Team and we were commuting all of the time. I said, ‘let’s just move to Fernie!’ Mike doesn’t have an office - he just needs a phone and an airport!” So, the family made the move in 2018. With Mel’s parents retired here, and her brother and his family here as well, Fernie is definitely home for the long-term.
Mel quickly became involved in the community through the ski team, running the U12 program, helping to organize the Ski Swap, getting involved in communications and newsletters, running dry land training and summer camps. “It’s such a great club to be a part of. While we still produce great athletes, we are inclusive and it’s like a big family.”
