Wim IJpelaar skated till now 35 times a tour of 200km
In some aspects Wim IJpelaar is like all fanatic skaters in the Netherlands: as soon as there is any indication that it may be possible to skate on the lakes and canals, he will go and try it out.
The photo to the right indicates why this strange habit is so common in the Netherlands. Many people are addicted to go skating in such a nature spectacle.
However, sometimes this goes wrong as he reports in his website from where I downloaded the following photos. This is also not unusual. I did the same with my friends and with the same consequences.
Going abroad Due to the climate change the possibilities to skate on natural ice are considerably reduced . Therefore the people go for one of two weeks to the Weissensee in Austria to skate there. So did Wim IJpelaar in the beginning of 2017. On the way to that lake they detected, close to München, that there was ice on the Chiemsee. Notwithstanding his experiences described above he cannot stop himself from trying out that ice. That was a very nice experience so they decided also to go skating the Königsee as well. Given the beautiful pictures one can understand why they wanted to do this. |
The Alternatieve Elfstedentocht
Wim is also similar to many Dutch skaters that he likes to skate the “Alternatieve Elfstedentochten” , a tour of 200kilometers on ice. Especially now that the real “Elfstedentocht” cannot be organized. So he goes with thousands of Dutch skaters every year to the Weissensee in Austria to skate the 200km on that lake. A bit deviant is that he not only likes to skate one 200km but two. However, also in this respect he is not completely alone. |
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Flevonice
However his winter would not be complete if he could not skate more kilometers in a year. This was already many years possible in the artificial ice rinks of 400 meters. But the last years there is an extra possibility. In the middle of the country there is an open air artificial ice track of 3 kilometers. Flevonice is nowadays his favorite skating rink because it is most similar to skating in the country side what was commonly done in the past. He is an important promotor of this possibility by his website “Vrienden van Flevonice”. |
Also there he has the possibility to skate many tours of 100 or even 200km.
Every year there is also a 24 hours on Flevonice, called RAPS KIKA24, where groups or individuals can test how many kilometers they can skate in 24hours. His record is 429km.
Every year there is also a 24 hours on Flevonice, called RAPS KIKA24, where groups or individuals can test how many kilometers they can skate in 24hours. His record is 429km.
What to do the other months?
In this way his winter, from November till the middle of March, is filled with skating; but this is not enough. Also during the other months he is busy with sport. He participates in inline skating (“skeeleren” in Dutch) and cycling. He writes in his blog: "I try to do once every week each of these kinds of sports. Inline skating on tuesday, thursday cycling and one night, or when it rains, running"
Also in these sports he prefers long distances like skating tours of 100 to 200 kilometers. The largest he did on inline skates was 365 kilometers around the internal lake, IJselmeer, and on the bike he participated in the Amstel Gold tour of 250 kilometers.
In this way his winter, from November till the middle of March, is filled with skating; but this is not enough. Also during the other months he is busy with sport. He participates in inline skating (“skeeleren” in Dutch) and cycling. He writes in his blog: "I try to do once every week each of these kinds of sports. Inline skating on tuesday, thursday cycling and one night, or when it rains, running"
Also in these sports he prefers long distances like skating tours of 100 to 200 kilometers. The largest he did on inline skates was 365 kilometers around the internal lake, IJselmeer, and on the bike he participated in the Amstel Gold tour of 250 kilometers.
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Why is he doing this?
As we have mentioned in the title he already has skated 35 times a tour of 200kilometers on ice or on wheels. This winter he is planning the skate at two more 200km on the Weissensee and probably more other tours of 200km in The Netherlands. So an interesting question is what motivates him to participate in so many of these tours?
It cannot be that he wants to proof for himself that he can do these 200km tours because that he has proven already many times. It can also not be that he wants to realyze a new best time. For that it is too late. So I asked him this question and his reaction was approximately as follows: I always liked to test myself on long distances on skates and on the bike. The time realized did not interest me so much. My idea was more to enjoy this activity in the open air. That is why I also don´t like so much to go skating in indoor ice rinks of 400 meters. Every day I get one day older (soon 66) and the skating of 200 kilometers becomes theoretically harder but I don´t detect it yet. Sure I am now less fast than 10 years ago but I never worried abouy my time. I rather enjoy the activity more and spend an hour longer because the circumstances are never the same. I don´t know how long I still can participate in such events, therefore, now that it still is possible, I like to enjoy my life by participating in long distance sports and I hope to continue this activity as long as I can.
As we have mentioned in the title he already has skated 35 times a tour of 200kilometers on ice or on wheels. This winter he is planning the skate at two more 200km on the Weissensee and probably more other tours of 200km in The Netherlands. So an interesting question is what motivates him to participate in so many of these tours?
It cannot be that he wants to proof for himself that he can do these 200km tours because that he has proven already many times. It can also not be that he wants to realyze a new best time. For that it is too late. So I asked him this question and his reaction was approximately as follows: I always liked to test myself on long distances on skates and on the bike. The time realized did not interest me so much. My idea was more to enjoy this activity in the open air. That is why I also don´t like so much to go skating in indoor ice rinks of 400 meters. Every day I get one day older (soon 66) and the skating of 200 kilometers becomes theoretically harder but I don´t detect it yet. Sure I am now less fast than 10 years ago but I never worried abouy my time. I rather enjoy the activity more and spend an hour longer because the circumstances are never the same. I don´t know how long I still can participate in such events, therefore, now that it still is possible, I like to enjoy my life by participating in long distance sports and I hope to continue this activity as long as I can.