JBR 06E, doubt

As fast as I dared I skated on. The enthusiasm was severely eroded. I decided to have something to drink beyond a small (illuminated, image hitting it with your head) bridge.
So I went to the bank, threw my gloves, rucksack, etc. on the ice and then suddenly this man stood there:

"Don't you dare! You hear me? You just keep on skating: it only 20 km to Bartlehiem! I myself am not a sportsman and I did it in 45 minutes. Must be easy for you. And then it is only 12 km to Dokkum. And from Dokkum onwards you have the wind in the back, straight to the finish!"
"But will I be there in time?" I protested faintly.
"Of course! Piece of cake! Here, let me massage your legs" and the man started fulfilling this promise.
I'm not the type of person which has his legs regularly massaged by unknown men, but his intention was so good that I didn't dare to protest. And after 150 km skating it felt great.
"Here, let me get your things for you" I was sincerely moved by the sympathy of this stranger. Before I drove on I told him that in my eyes the Friesian were really fantastic people. I felt embarrassed when he admitted he was from Noord-Brabant.
Thank you stranger, you saved me!

The trajectory to Bartlehiem was not easy. Later I would find out that the 20 km cost me about 2 hours. Many, many "klûn"-places. Many, many times flat on my face in the pitch darkness. "Only ... km to Bartlehiem, and you will get a fantastic welcome there!"
They had not exaggerated: what a crowd, what an enthusiasm! Full of mental energy I turned left and found myself on the Dokkumer Ee. Good ice, but the wind.... Luckily I had enough dextrose tablets in my pocket. However due to the countless falls the tablets were now white powder.

On the Dokkumer Ee the skaters going back and forth meet. You could see the headlights and torches of the skaters returning. Dokkum turned out to be further away than promised: 9 km, 6 km, 2 km, "there where the lights are". Although the number of kilometres decreased, it looked as if the kilometres itself became longer. My skating technique was embarrassingly bad. It was now so dark that several times I hit the bank. Suddenly I was skating in bright light. Then I realised that this had to be Dokkum (see picture: Dokkum by daylight). ("hell of the north", in Elfsteden jargon)

Cheering and applauding people. Then I realised that I was skating there alone, and all these people were shouting for me! Once again I was moved. A bit clumsy I drove to the stamp post where I asked how much time I still had. "You can make it, but you'll have to skate on. You've got 70 minutes for 24 km".

Later I would see that this momentum is registered on the official Elfsteden video tape (NOS, Elfstedentocht 1997)! My face can clearly be seen in close-up!

The public was so supportive. With renewed energy I drove off, direction Leeuwarden on well illuminated, good ice. At a considerable speed I plunged into darkness again, wind in the back. And suddenly there was this fall: my skate had got stuck in a crack and I got thrown onto the ice with knees, hands, chest and jaw. For a moment I could not breathe. My entire body ached. Slowly I got to my feet: I had one last stamp to collect.
My speed was now 'as fast as I dared'. The wind in my back was very welcome, but the cracks hidden by the total darkness were a constant threat. But I had to arrive before 24:00 at the finish. It was so dark that several times I hit the bank.

The next fall was not a surprise, but it came unexpectedly. My knees hurt badly, but they kept on going. I noticed that each time I skated faster: until the next 'close encounter with the ice'. There were hardly any skaters any more. I must have been one of the last that were allowed to depart from Dokkum to Leeuwarden (the ones after me would definitely have arrived too late at the finish)

Suddenly I found myself at Bartlehiem again and took the left onto the "Murk". An appropriate name. Once again: head wind. However for a short trajectory. In Oudkerk, a few kilometres from the finish, a secret check point. "You still can make it, but you have to hurry". Hurry, only a few kilometres to go.
Desperately I skated further, wind in the back. After a few hundred meters: a crack. Go to my feet. A man on the bank shouted "you don't need to hurry, it's past midnight". Perhaps his watch was not on time.

Suddenly bright lights. Was that the finish? Hard to tell. Lots of people on the ice. Hurry, I had to be in time, skate! Then I realised that people on the ice gestured that I should reduce speed. Why? I had to go on. Where was that silly stamp post? I asked the people, and a policeman said: "You're too late, sir. They've left already".
Then I saw the huge digital clock: 00:11. I had arrived eleven minutes too late....

What a disappointment! What a pity. How dishonest! Other people had had many hours more and could have got the "kruisje" (cross with Elfsteden insignia, see first page) skating at ease, taking rests, etc. I had done almost fourteen hours non-stop. Anyhow, those were the rules, so one has to accept it.
Personally, I was glad I had made it. I got to the bank and put on my shoes. Walking was a very funny experience: my legs weren't used to it any more. After a last glance at the finish - with a banner: "the wind will lie down!" - I walked to the coach that would take me to the train.

In the coach I called my wife (which had been extremely worried) and my friends in Heerenveen. Then I saw several people in the coach, which had plastic bags on their feet. They had got off the ice but hadn't had any (spare) shoes with them, their shoes being in the FEC. (thousands of shoes were there on a huge pile)

The coach left for the FEC, and then to the station. The train had just left and I had to wait for the 02:00 train. To my surprise the train was crowded. In Heerenveen I found my car under snow and ice, especially on the windows. Then I heard a man behind me offering me to help. He had recognised me as an Elfsteden skater and started a long conversation about the tour. After a while I apologised and drove off to my friends in Heerenveen. There of course they wanted to hear everything and it was about 03:30 when - after a long warm shower - I got into bed.

When later in the day I arrived home, I saw a flag with skates plus a banner hanging from the gutter (see pictures) with a text which in English would be more or less "good old Johan back from the Elfsteden cold"

At that day, our neighbour was celebrating her birthday with lots of common friends. We all had a very nice gathering and of course I had to put on the Elfsteden T-shirt and the orange armband. I got many flowers, bottles of wine, greeting cards from friends. Also the following day, at my work, I got many reactions from friends and colleagues abroad. Later my wife gave me a small tin skate, with the inscription: "Elfstedentocht, 4 januari 1997".

Dokkum [Dokkum]	trajectory	total	Time: 22:50
distance	047	176	[km]
skating time	04:00	12:20	[hh:mm]
speed	11.8	14.3	[km/h]

Leeuwarden [Ljouwert]	trajectory	total	Time: 00:11
distance	024	200	[km]
skating time	01:21	13:41	[hh:mm]
speed	17.8	14.6	[km/h]