Our first bike. Our first strangers. Our first sign-ups.

LocalDutchWays Blog — Bollenstreek — April 2026

Some milestones are quiet. A decision made, a form signed, a box ticked. And some milestones ride towards you on two wheels, freshly wrapped, with orange lettering that catches the light.

Today we picked up our first LocalDutchWays bike.

Getting the design right

We worked with TeylingenReclame, a local print and signage company, to get the branding onto the bike. It took a few rounds to get it right. Our first instinct was to go with our brand colours: green and orange on the black frame. On the bike, the green disappeared. After seeing the first version, we switched to white and orange. The result is exactly what we wanted. Against the black frame, the orange pops. The LocalDutchWays lettering is sharp, clean, and visible from a distance. The bike looks like it means business.

Into the fields

The first thing I did was take it to the flower fields. A branded bike deserves a proper first photo, and there is only one backdrop that makes sense in the bollenstreek in April.

I had barely set up the shot when a couple cycled past and slowed down. They were taking photos of the fields, as so many people do at this time of year. I offered to take a photo of them together in front of the tulips. They accepted, we started talking, and within a few minutes I had learned more about how visitors actually experience this region than any survey could have told me.

A Greek couple from Leiden

They were a couple of Greek origin, now living in Leiden. They had brought their bikes on the train specifically to cycle through the flower fields. She had her own bike. He had hired one locally. When he saw the LocalDutchWays bike, he said, without any prompting, that it looked better than the one he had rented.

We talked about the concept. She said she would tell people about it in her community in Leiden. Then she scanned the QR code and signed up.

A Romanian woman from The Hague

While we were talking, another cyclist approached. A woman of Romanian origin, living in The Hague. She had also taken the train with her bike to spend the afternoon in the fields. She heard us talking, stopped, and joined the conversation.

“At the end of a holiday you finally know all the routes and where everything is. But then you have no time left, because you are going home. That is why it would be so useful to have this kind of local knowledge from the very beginning.”

That is the problem LocalDutchWays solves. She said it better than we ever could. She scanned the QR code, signed up, and cycled off.

What today confirmed

Before today, LocalDutchWays was a concept, a website in progress, a branded bike in a workshop. Tonight it is something else. Two people from two different countries, both living in the Netherlands, both cycling through the bollenstreek on their own, both looking for exactly what we are building.

They were not lost. They were managing fine. But they could have had so much more, and they knew it the moment someone explained what was possible.

Two sign-ups. First day out. Not a bad start.

Want to see more photos? Follow us on Instagram: @localdutchways