At 87, soon to be 88 years old, Renate Lichti has no plans to put the brakes on an exercise routine she’s made a priority in her life since retiring…cycling.
Today, whenever the weather allows, she rides her bike on the interior roads of Heritage Pointe of Fort Wayne, the senior living community that she’s called home since 2018 and where she feels safe cycling.
“I love being in the fresh air and the weather is usually good,” says Lichti who grew up in Germany where cycling was an everyday part of her life.
“When I was in Germany that’s how I got to school,” she says. “We lived in one town, and the school was in the next town. So I biked there.”
Lichti studied physics in Germany and then immigrated to the U.S. in the 1950s where she met and married her husband. After raising three children, she studied and then worked in accounting. With all of that going on, she was too busy to bike but resumed the routine again when she retired.
“I used to do 10 miles a day, now I do it for an hour,” she says.
Besides biking, Lichti finds plenty of things to do at Heritage Pointe and within the greater community. She leads a very active lifestyle, volunteering at a food pantry and a thrift store operated by her church, Maplewood Mennonite Church in Fort Wayne. She regularly visits with the residents in skilled nursing at Heritage Pointe.
She appreciates the many activities that Heritage Pointe offers at its well-appointed and spacious clubhouse, which she says helps her stay engaged and active.
“Heritage Pointe is a very nice community with a beautiful clubhouse,” she says.
Even when the weather hits 34 degrees and it is too cold to bike, she doesn’t let physical activity go by the wayside. She walks within the community rather than rides.
“I need to be active. It’s good for my mental and physical health,” she says.
