Summer in Drenthe means endless walks, tough mountain bike tours and fully enjoying the beautiful nature. It is a party for recreational users. But for the Drenthe Recreation Board and the Gieten touring bike club it is hard work.
While walkers and cyclists enjoy the landscape, they ensure that signs are visible behind the scenes, paths remain passable and accidents are prevented.
Safe cycling starts with the right route. Or rather: with clear signs and well -maintained paths. And that doesn’t happen automatically. Especially in the summer months it is busy and so volunteers from the Gieten touring bike club are working hard.
“We remove old branches for the safety of mountain bikers,” says Fokko Kupers, volunteer at the touring bike club. “But we also remove blackberries with thick spines so that sporty cyclists can undisturbed from A to B. On this mountain bike path between Gieten and Gasselte we see many recreationists in the summer period, in addition to the regular club cyclists and of course we don’t want any accidents.”
In the Drenthe Recreation Board, they notice a significant increase in reports in the summer. Especially about daubing or disappeared signs. The routes often lead to the most beautiful places in Drenthe. To prevent people from getting lost, the recreation board uses a tight rule: a broken or disappeared plate must be replaced within 48 hours of a report.
“We are responsible for 30 walking routes and 30 cycling routes in Drenthe,” says Albert Broekman of the recreational board. “Of course there is nothing more annoying than when people are walking a route and a sign is missing or it is daubing. And unfortunately that happens regularly.”
Fortunately, maintaining paths is not only hard work. For the volunteers of TFC Gieten it is also a moment of relaxation.
“It is very cozy, especially when the weather is nice,” says Harm Pepping. “We have a nice club and during the afternoon we drink a drink with each other after maintenance. And then a block of cheese and a slice of sausage cannot be missing.”
The purpose of the recreational board is clear: ensuring that nobody gets lost in Drenthe. Whether the maintenance team itself ever gets lost? You can see that in the video: