My first "Alternatieve Elfstedentocht"
In 1991 I made myself free for 3 weeks to go to the "Alternative Elfstedentocht" in the Weissensee. I had been training on the artificial ice track in Amsterdam at least twice a week and decided to go to Davos for two week to do some more training. There I skated every day approximately 2 hours. The last day before I had to leave for the Weissensee it was snowing a lot but the ice rink was open and I had decided to skate for training 200 rounds (not 200km) there. I got a lot of attention because I looked like a snowman after having finished this task.
The next day I was sitting in the train for a whole day to go from Davos to the Weissensee. I had reserved a nice hotel on a hill along the lake. Arriving there the first people that I met there were my friends Fred and Pauline from the last real "Elfstedentocht". By chance they stayed in the same hotel.
The next day I was sitting in the train for a whole day to go from Davos to the Weissensee. I had reserved a nice hotel on a hill along the lake. Arriving there the first people that I met there were my friends Fred and Pauline from the last real "Elfstedentocht". By chance they stayed in the same hotel.
The next day we did some training rounds on the lake. The ice was very good and the temperature was nice even a bit too warm because at the sides of the lake there was no ice left at some places. The organization of the tour decided for this reason not to organize the tour on the large lake but on the small lake at the other side of the bridge. This meant that we had to skate 20 rounds of 10 kilometers on that lake. This was a disappointment but safety is first in these situations.
Next day we started at 7 a.m. the tour. It was still dark but soon it was beautiful weather. Skating in a group of well-trained skaters we went rather fast, especially because we had never to stop and walk to get to control posts as is the case in the real Elfstedentocht. So I finished the 200km at 3 p.m. This means that my averaged speed was 25km per hour. I needed 4 hours less than in my last real "Elfstedentocht".This was indeed why I came to the "Alternative Elfstedentocht". I was very satisfied with this result. I had realized what I wanted to do. So I went to the hotel, took a shower and went back to the lake to sit in the sun and look at the other skaters.
My friend Fred finished approximately at the same time as me but he had to take care of his wife, Pauline, who still had to do three rounds and was very tired. So he helped her to finish these last three rounds. That means that he skated 230km. In the end they were both very tired and did not go to the party for the skaters. I did not do so either because I had to go to Vienna the next day.
Next day we started at 7 a.m. the tour. It was still dark but soon it was beautiful weather. Skating in a group of well-trained skaters we went rather fast, especially because we had never to stop and walk to get to control posts as is the case in the real Elfstedentocht. So I finished the 200km at 3 p.m. This means that my averaged speed was 25km per hour. I needed 4 hours less than in my last real "Elfstedentocht".This was indeed why I came to the "Alternative Elfstedentocht". I was very satisfied with this result. I had realized what I wanted to do. So I went to the hotel, took a shower and went back to the lake to sit in the sun and look at the other skaters.
My friend Fred finished approximately at the same time as me but he had to take care of his wife, Pauline, who still had to do three rounds and was very tired. So he helped her to finish these last three rounds. That means that he skated 230km. In the end they were both very tired and did not go to the party for the skaters. I did not do so either because I had to go to Vienna the next day.
My wife, Irmtraud, has been born in Austria. Due to all our activities we did not visit Austria very frequently. Therefore I had to make an agreement with her that we would go to a New year ball in Vienna if I wanted to go to the Weissensee. This was agreed.
Therefore I went early in the morning in the train to Vienna and she came from Davos to Vienna and in the evening we went together to a ball in a palace of the Habsburg emperors. We had a very nice evening and we have been photographed in front of a statue of the last emperor. At that time we were still very young and one cannot see that I had skated 200 kilometers the other day.
This ball was a very nice finish of a very sportive start of the year 1991. I realized what I always wanted to do and my wife was also happy to have been again at a ball in the city where she had lived with pleasure in her youth.
In a very good mood we steps the next day in the train to Amsterdam to start again our normal life with a very pleasant memory. I was wondering whether I would ever do a 200km tour again. Let us see what happened later.
Therefore I went early in the morning in the train to Vienna and she came from Davos to Vienna and in the evening we went together to a ball in a palace of the Habsburg emperors. We had a very nice evening and we have been photographed in front of a statue of the last emperor. At that time we were still very young and one cannot see that I had skated 200 kilometers the other day.
This ball was a very nice finish of a very sportive start of the year 1991. I realized what I always wanted to do and my wife was also happy to have been again at a ball in the city where she had lived with pleasure in her youth.
In a very good mood we steps the next day in the train to Amsterdam to start again our normal life with a very pleasant memory. I was wondering whether I would ever do a 200km tour again. Let us see what happened later.