Today, participants in the Drentse Fiets4Daagse are surprised by farmers handing out free ice creams between Amen and Ekehaar. On one condition: they have to accept a sticker to support the farmers on the mudguard.
,,This is a positive action”, Olga van der Horst calls out to cyclists on the bicycle path, to let them slow down a bit. The four-day participants are only too happy to squeeze the brakes, because who doesn’t feel like an ice cream for nothing with this warm weather?
“Ninety percent of cyclists react positively to our campaign, set up by local farmers,” says Van der Horst. She has a dairy farm nearby. “We like to be positive in the news as farmers. People are tired of blockades of distribution centers with empty shelves in supermarkets. That is why we are approaching this in this way, positively.”
Also some nasty comments
Yet there are also cyclists who are less understanding. ,,Some have already paused at the stamping place at café De Amer, and now want to continue. That’s fine. But there are also some people with nasty reactions. They almost knock you off your feet.”
With a flyer in their pocket, an ice cream in hand and the sticker on the back, most participants continue cycling satisfied. ,,We are for the farmers”, sounds the assembly line.