My first tour alone
When I was 15 years old we stayed during the Christmas time in a village where my grandparents lived. It was freezing and I wanted to skate but there I could only skate in an open air swimming pool. This was too small for me. So I told my parents that I did not want to stay. My father allowed me to leave. So I went hitchhiking to Leiden where I knew that there was a tour of 90km. Arriving there around 12h I joined a group skaters that started at the same time. We finished with three people: a farmer of 69 years, a student of 23 and me 15.
|
At the end we made a
sprint. The student won. We very much enjoyed skating
together in the same rhythm and we went for a drink and talked about the coming
“Elfstedentocht" (eleven cities tour) which the committee was
preparing. We asked the farmer if he would go. He said that it depended on how he
would feel the next day. The student asked me if I would like to join him to go
to the Eleven cities tour. I immediately said yes because this was the top of
all tours. I went back with him to Amsterdam in his car and I stayed alone in
our house. Fortunately, the next day the weather changed and the tour was
cancelled. In fact, being 15 years old I would not have been allowed to
participate.
This was my flying start in the world of tour skating. I liked a lot this free life. This was the year 1958. It would take till 1963 before I got a chance to skate the famous Eleven cities tour.
This was my flying start in the world of tour skating. I liked a lot this free life. This was the year 1958. It would take till 1963 before I got a chance to skate the famous Eleven cities tour.
Many other tours
On the map some of the many tours are indicated which will be organized when there is ice on the canals and lakes. We see that the tours concentrate in the areas that are under the sea level i.e. in the west part of the country and in the north. There are the most lakes and canals. The tours vary in length between 30 and 120km. For a complete overview of all known 50 tours around Amsterdam alone click here |
Between 1958 and 1963 I have skated nearly all tours that
were organized around Amsterdam The procedure is in general as follows. In a bar next to the
start point of the tour one pays a small amount, 5 guilders which is
now 2 euros, for the participation. This money is used for the organization of
the tour i.e. creating control posts and control and cleaning of the ice along
the route. If you have paid, you get a card and along the route the controllers
give you stamps on the card indicating that you have passed this point. If you
have all the stamps on the card, you get a medal of the club that organizes the
tour. In the end I had so many medals that I did not pick them up anymore. One of the nicest tours is the one of the Alblasserwaard passing by the famous Kinderdijk with the many windmills. It is an impressive sight skating there.
For more information and stories about skating tours go to : http://www.schaats-en-skate.nl/skate/sklroute.htm
For more information and stories about skating tours go to : http://www.schaats-en-skate.nl/skate/sklroute.htm