Cycling the Elfstedentocht
“How long do we have to go against this pockmarked wind?”
“Kilometre or 70.”
“Head over heels then?”
“Seems sensible.”
Nobody had said it would be easy when we decided to cycle the Elfstedentocht. We also looked forward to it a bit: endless pastures and, because we did it in March and not during the official tour, still little sociability in the cities. But my business partner - and brother - Garikai and I felt we should have this ‘sacred’ cycling goal on our CV.
Because in the Netherlands, first you have the Ronde van Noord-Holland (okay, that's local chauvinism), then nothing for a long time and then tours like the Amstel Gold Race and the Elfstedentocht. Ice skating will probably never be it, so I'll just have to cycle.
The Frisian Eleven Cities
OK, so the goal was to complete the route along the legendary eleven Frisian towns: just under 220 kilometres of cycling. Booked a hotel in Harlingen and set off early (never our strong point anyway). Garikai had a stroke of genius to shorten the trip by a few kilometres: the week before, the Elfsteden race took place, and those riders had a very efficient route along all the towns. Winner Elmar Reinders' .gpx file would be our guide.
In the beginning of the trip - despite the puckish wind from Stavoren - it went quite nicely. We could quickly tick off Bolsward and Workum. And at Hindeloopen we have been wondering since the 1997 Tour: has it got a stamp or not?
(For readers now wondering what on earth this is about: google ‘Piet Kleine’ and ‘stamping’ or take a look here: https://nos.nl/artikel/2150983-piet-kleine-de-man-die-vergat-te-stempelen).
We were on the road so early that the catering outlets were not yet open when we had covered the first 100 kilometres. Fortunately, Bakery Bart had plenty of delicious sandwiches ready.
When the route took a kink to the north, cycling suddenly became a lot easier too. The Frisian landscape consists almost entirely of meadows, so we were able to develop a nice pace as far as Sneek and Leeuwarden. There followed a setback: the route discovery turned out to be less ingenious than expected.
Too late in Dokkum
For the Elfsteden race, of course, all roads were blocked off, including the 80-kilometre-per-hour provincial roads. Here the big puzzling began, which didn't stop until Dokkum. This town seemed to be accessible exclusively by the main road and we tried as many as four or five different ways before we finally found a cycle path. For those watching the 1997 Elfstedentocht, do you remember this man? https://nos.nl/video/2151480-schaatser-is-een-minuut-te-laat-in-dokkum. For a while we feared that our trip would be stranded in Dokkum like Rudy Langen's from Assen.
When we finally reached Dokkum, the reward followed: lunch at the local petrol station. Yes, the Elfsteden race did not go through the historic city centre. Oh well, the pastries provided enough energy to complete the remaining 50 kilometres.
With the wind again pretty much against us, the countdown was blown.
Another 50 kilometres.
Another 30 kilometres...
Ten more... five more...
Two more ki... LEK!
For Garikai's morale, this was pretty much the decisive blow. “You go get the car, I don't feel like doing this anymore,” he said.”
Heroic
We agreed that throwing in the towel two kilometres before the finish was not so heroic after all. The tyre was changed and on a moderately inflated spare we reached our hotel.
Mission completed. Would we recommend the ride? Yes, we would. As a cycling enthusiast, you should have cycled the Eleven Cities Tour at least once, even if it is not as prestigious as the Tour of North Holland.
Then perhaps do it in summer, when the Frisian pavement cafés are pleasantly crowded. And be careful to borrow a route from Elmar Reinders.
Inspiring to do the same!
Nice blog.