Bicycle Portrait: Reuben & His Batavus Champion

Meet Reuben. A young professional, climbing the ladder of the film industry. I met him after he was referred to me, hiring him to help us out with the 'Cycling For Everyone' production. For this shoot I had lend him my OV-Fiets card (transit bike share scheme). There was not enough room left in the production van, so he had to travel by train. This weekend he came by to return it. We talked about how well the film had been received by the embassy's target audience, which he was pleased to hear, of course. This was also a good opportunity to take a closer look at his bike. A Batavus. As you can see, not of the transport-type that people usually associate this well-known Dutch brand with. Bottom line, the Dutch bicycle industry has a rich history when it comes to road bikes and Batavus was and still is no stranger to it.

His Champion is a beauty. Nice proportions, quality steel & it sure looks nice in white. It's from the early 80's. Reuben was able to buy it via the Dutch equivalent of eBay for practically nothing.
I told him about my plans to get into track racing on the Velodrome in Amsterdam, which includes getting a similar bike for the fun of it, getting me to the track & facilitating other enjoyable moments.

Yes, you read that right. There's more to Dutch cycling than meets the eye :).