The start
I had hoped to cover the 1900 meter to the "Zwette" (canal) jogging. That would have warmed up the muscles. However there were so many people that it was just a jog trot. Some fifteen minutes later I was at the ice.
In order to prevent skating with wet socks (and/ or a wet bottom) I had worked out the procedure in great detail: first put skates down, open rucksack, put plastic bag on grass (avoid wet bottom!), sit, take off shoe 1, put skate 1 on, shoe 2, skate 2, put shoes in rucksack... and then the zipper of my rucksack got stuck!! (I have to admit that I had a short but intense monologue with the Almighty). Fortunately the zipper gave in eventually.
| Leeuwarden [Ljouwert] | trajectory | total | Time: 10:30 (estimated) |
| distance | 000 | 000 | [km] |
| skating time | 00:00 | 00:00 | [hh:mm] |
| speed | 00.0 | 00.0 | [km/h] |
With the wind in the back I sped direction Sneek. There were lots of people on the ice and I overtook many of them. It struck me that quite a few did not wear proper clothing (e.g. wearing jeans and a thick sweater). The amount of skaters around me thinned considerably the first kilometre.
The people on the
waterside were fantastic: waving, applauding, shouting all
kinds of encouragement ("come on, it's just one
lap"). Lots of banners with texts to greet friends. It
all went very, very (too) smooth.
Recklessly I waved back to a few people. At that moment I
learned that in 90% of the cases there are huge cracks in the
ice after a bridge... Hastily and somewhat embarrassed I got
to my feet again and went on.
The first stamp post
We had been warned several times not to miss this post: it was located well before the city Sneek [Snits, in Frisian]. My first stamp!
| Sneek [Snits] | trajectory | total | Time: 11:28 |
| distance | 022 | 022 | [km] |
| skating time | 00:58 | 00:58 | [hh:mm] |
| speed | 22.8 | 22.8 | [km/h] |
I was really moved when
I saw all these people standing along the canal, shouting and
applauding. It was in Sneek that for the first time I had to
walk over wood/ carpet at a place where the ice was not
strong enough. At several places an impressive wooden
construction was made. This walking-with-skates-on is called
'klūnen' in Friesian.
The next stamp was to be collected a mere 4 km further.
| Ijst [Drylts] | trajectory | total | Time: 11:37 |
| distance | 004 | 026 | [km] |
| skating time | 00:09 | 00:67 | [hh:mm] |
| speed | 26.7 | 23.3 | [km/h] |
Same as in Sneek: an enthusiastic crowd. Up to Sloten now, and the tour took us over a lake (Slotermeer) this time. For the first time now the wind in back became a strong side wind. Sometimes very strong.
| Sloten [Sleat] | trajectory | total | Time: 12:16 |
| distance | 014 | 040 | [km] |
| skating time | 00:39 | 01:46 | [hh:mm] |
| speed | 21.5 | 22.6 | [km/h] |
In Sloten the skaters back and forth used the same canal. In Sloten itself I decided to buy something to drink since I wanted to keep my supplies for the 'lonely trajectories' still to come. It was there - sipping my lukewarm cocoa - that I heard that a certain Henk Angenent had won the race.
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The wind
Now I had to skate with
the strong wind head-on. This was definitely not as much fun
as the first part.
But apart from the energy that it costs, wind has other
effects...
However now I had an urgent need to
relieve myself. So I skated to the bank near a rather wide
bridge in an abandoned area. Due to the strong wind this
biological necessity requires careful planning. First
determine precisely from which side the wind is blowing.
Then, with the wind in the back, I took off my thick gloves
and put these two meter aside. I had just begun fighting with
my many layers of clothing when another skater joined me.
"Were you going to do the same" I asked. "Yes,
I give up here too" he replied. "I just wanted to
relieve myself". The man didn't know how to react. He
just stood there motionless. Only when I had asked him
whether he would excuse me he skated on.
During aforementioned activity suddenly there was a strong
gust of wind, which did not only transform my superfluous
bodily fluid into a fine spray, but also got hold of one of
my gloves, which was taken up and blown over the fence at the
bank. When I saw it happen I could not do much: only later I
(just) managed to get hold of it...
Later I arrived in Balk. A very nice village, with lots of people applauding and shouting. Because it is a village and not a city, there was no stamp post. At the "Fluessen" lake the ice quality was worse. Some white spots were 'brittle', your skate disappeared a few cm in that ice. It reduced the speed and you had to be careful not to fall. Other parts had ripples, which made you vibrate up to your brain.
Due to aforementioned
ice conditions and cracks, I had fallen twice already.
Countless times I could just prevent a nasty fall by making
strange corrective movements: these movements made my back
hurt.
Furthermore I noticed that my strokes became shorter, having
the advantage of circumskating cracks.
| Stavoren [Starum] | trajectory | total | Time: 13:39 |
| distance | 026 | 066 | [km] |
| skating time | 01:23 | 03:09 | [hh:mm] |
| speed | 18.8 | 21.0 | [km/h] |
In Stavoren (see picture) there were lots of ships with rigging in the
harbour. I needed something to eat so I took another bun.
"Would you like some tea with it, sir?" I heard
beside me. Grateful, I accepted the steaming hot tea from a
complete stranger: a woman who offered tea to all skaters.
This is the true "Elfsteden-spirit", I said to
myself. Many other people were along the route offered the
skaters hot drinks or helped them "klūnen". As
quick as I could I finished my tea: I had to go on.
The next 110 km would be straight against the
fierce wind.
