Longtime OP resident from Limburg looking forward to visiting native land in future

By Greg Ellison

(July 1, 2021) Ocean Pines bicycle enthusiast Roelof “Dutch” Oostven is already highly anticipating the 70th anniversary next year of Club Kampioen, a bicycle riding group he helped form in his native Limburg.

Born in Oct. 1931, Oostven was one of seven siblings reared in Eygelshoven, a village outside Limburg in the southernmost province of the Netherlands.

His idyllic childhood was shattered when the German Nazi army invaded his homeland in May 1940 during WWII.

“I lived half a mile from the German border,” he said.

Although infamous for stealing wealth and artworks from conquered regions, German soldiers were also quick to loot the homes of average citizens, Oostven said.

Oostven said in defiance of military orders, and at great personal risk, his father managed to hide a relatively expensive bicycle purchased for his wife.

“The Nazis took everything,” he said. “We didn’t even have pots and pans.”

Hitler’s occupation of his home village ended in Sept. 1944 when U.S. forces liberated the region from German control.

After the war ended, Oostven spent his teenage years working for a bicycle repair shop near his hometown.

“I worked at a bicycle shop for $2.40 an hour and two meals a day,” he said.

Unlike modern-era road bikes, Oostven pumped the wheels on a nearly 30-pound behemoth.

“I did summer riding tours,” he said.

In fact, the idle time peddling through Northern Europe afforded Oostven numerous memorable encounters with locals.

“In small villages on the way … people would let us in their homes to change clothes,” he said.

Invariably the stopovers evolved into a dinner invitation.

After recently shipping his 1953 Club Kampioen jersey overseas to the son of a former riding buddy in the midst of forming a bicycle museum in his native Limburg, Roelof “Dutch” Oostven was amazed to learn local media in the Netherlands picked up the story.

“They would feed us and we would feast,” he said.

Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in the early 1950s, Oostven helped establish a bicycle club in his native land.

A year after he retired and relocated to Ocean Pines in 1993, former club members, whom he hadn’t seen in decades, contacted Oostven once they uncovered his whereabouts.

In 1994, Oostven returned home for a reunion with old teammates.

“I traveled 12,000 miles for five minutes of glory,” he said.

Over the last quarter century, Oostven has worked diligently to repair bicycles, with the bulk intended for children in need during the holidays.

The Ocean City-Berlin Optimist Club and the Ocean Pines Fire Department have joined Oostven in the effort.

After recently learning a bike-riding connection was establishing a museum in the Netherlands, Oostven dug out his original Club Kampioen uniform to bolster the collection.

“I sent him my 1953 jersey,” he said.

While plans are still being made, Oostven is hoping to journey home next year to mark the bike club’s 70th anniversary.

“I’ve sent a lot of bike items to the Netherlands,” he said.