My guest today is Ole Kassow. Ole is a social entrepreneur based in Denmark and the founder of Cycling Without Age, a global movement that brings together volunteers to provide outdoor cycle rides to older people who would otherwise be stuck inside. Ole has also spent a lifetime experimenting with different ways to bring kindness into the world of work.
In this episode, we talk about his journey creating Cycling Without Age and growing it to become a truly global organization. We also talk about the importance of intergenerational conversations, his experiments in slowness, why kindness is good for business and how his dad inspired his playful spirit. I think you're gonna love this one.
Ole starts by telling us how Cycling Without Age was created:
So I come out of a family with a dad who suffered from MS. He was very quick in a wheelchair. Actually, I know firsthand how lack of mobility can cause social isolation, loneliness and depression.
There was one particular guy who just caught my attention and spurred me into action and that was a man who later really changed my life. I offered bike rides to him. It just brought me an amazing insight into a different generation. It gave me a lot of joy to be able to take this man back on a bike and get him back into his neighbourhood and meet his old friends, see the old places and listen to stories and so on. I felt it was a really wonderful two-way thing where I was able to offer my companionship and he was able to offer me a lot of stories and a lot of insights and wisdom from his age.
And then continued on from that with the city of Copenhagen getting involved and sponsoring some wonderful three-wheel bikes with a double seat in front. Then it just grew from there, it grew to all the care homes and activity centres in Copenhagen and beyond, and has since spread to most corners of the world as well.
✔ Links:
Cycling Without Age:
https://cyclingwithoutage.org/
Ole Kassow on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/olekassow/
Ole Kassow on Twitter:
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