88 & 89 yr old Centralia residents get into tricycling

Two Centralia residents say they’ve found a novel way to stay fit and conserve energy at the same time. They’ve hooked up a solar panel to the side of their garage and use the sun’s energy to charge batteries powering electric motors on their three-wheel bikes.

But that’s not the half of it. Earl and Maxine Lincoln are 88 and 89, respectively, and have battled a laundry list of ailments. Maxine suffers from hardening of the arteries and has had quintuple bypass surgery. Earl has a vitamin B-12 deficiency that causes neuropathy in his hands and feet. Both have surgically reconstructed knees. . .

The bike riding began about two years ago after the Lincolns’ son hooked up a motor to his mother’s three-wheeler. She tends to get winded quickly because of a weak heart, and the motor powered by 12-volt car batteries made it easier for her to ride uphill.

She started taking mile-long trips - to shop at the C&R; grocery store and meet regularly with a women’s group at Middletown Christian Church.