Bridge up, bridge down. Straight through the working-class district and then again at great speed over the cobblestones in the historic city center. Frits Rorink cycled 25 thousand kilometers in 8 years of Deventer aldermanship. Now he says goodbye. “I’m going to be a bicycle courier in Enschede.”
To be fair, he did not only cycle those 25 thousand kilometers in two administrative terms in Deventer. Frits Rorink: “Because I also went on a working visit by bike to Zutphen, Apeldoorn or Zwolle. And Okkenbroek, for example. It’s a question of good planning.”
“>
“Who are you then?”
They were even surprised in the Zwolle provincial government when Rorink did not appear for a meeting in a cycling suit. “I was wearing a normal suit and tie at the time. Those people there were really surprised and said: ‘Who are you then?’
Rorink can laugh heartily about it. As he always enthusiastically takes his two-wheeler and does his work with love. The bicycle has helped him in his councilorship. Rorink: “I got to know the city much better by bike. You also make contacts much easier, stop somewhere for a chat. You don’t do that in the car. It has been incredibly good for my network.”
Cycle on 1 in Deventer
After the upcoming municipal elections, the traditional Oldenzaler Rorink will stop as alderman in Deventer. A city he has come to love. The IJssel, the historic city center, Go Ahead Eagles; it got into Rorink’s blood. As alderman, he also contributed to better bicycle connections in the city. “Together with others, we have been able to take significant steps. When it comes to mobility, the bicycle is becoming priority 1 in Deventer.”
He himself now knows every street and alley. The bicycle also helped him a lot when it became difficult as an alderman. For heavy files or difficult meetings. “For example, before a tough city council meeting I went to train for two hours on the bike. That literally gave me space in my head, so that I knew exactly what I was going to say in that meeting. That comes naturally on the bike. Great.”
Tankenberg instead of IJsselbruggen
After the elections, Rorink returns completely to Oldenzaal, where he still lives with his wife. He gives up his apartment in the center of Deventer. He will then be able to climb his beloved Tankenberg more often. In Deventer he had to make do with the IJssel bridges for a climb. “And that is a big difference. You can make a lot more climbing meters in the area around Oldenzaal.”
In Enschede he starts working as a bicycle courier. A profession that he also practiced voluntarily in Deventer. “This is where the love for parcel delivery originated. I think that contact with people is wonderful.”
But he does not rule out a part-time job somewhere as an alderman or interim mayor. Education continues to lure. “But it must feel good in the stomach. In the last years of my working life I will only do really nice work.”
.
