Topic: Elfstedentocht
In case some of you are unaware, the Dutch are skating crazy. The moment we get a proper cold snap, the moment we have one night around -10c, people start talking about the Holy Grail of skating, the Elfstedentocht. 
The Elfstedentocht (or, in West Frisian, Alvestêdetocht, English translation: "Eleven Cities Tour"), at 200 km, is the world's largest and longest speed skating competition and leisure skating tour, and is held in the province of Friesland, Netherlands only when the ice along the entire course is 15 cm thick.[1]
The Elfstedentocht (or, in West Frisian, Alvestêdetocht, English translation: "Eleven Cities Tour"), at 200 km, is the world's largest and longest speed skating competition and leisure skating tour, and is held in the province of Friesland, Netherlands only when the ice along the entire course is 15 cm thick.[1]
The cold spell in late Janaury and early February 2012 has heightened the expectation of a 2012 Elfstedentocht. On 2 February 2012, it was reported that there was a 95% probabilty that the event would take place and that various locks that controlled the water flow in the canals had been adjusted to maximise the ice thickness. On the same day, the Dutch weather meteorological service forecast that temperatures would not rise above freezing until Wednesday 8 February at the earliest and that the ice would be 15 cm thick from Tuesday 7 February until Saturday 11 February.[3]
So, it looks like we may actually be in business this year! I have lived here since 1989 and have only ever seen one Elfstedentocht, in 1997.
Since the Elfstedentocht is such a rare event, its declaration creates excitement all over the country. As soon as a few days pass with sub-zero temperatures, the media start speculating about the chances for an Elfstedentocht. The longer the freezing temperatures stay, the more intense this "Elfstedenkoorts" (eleven-city tour fever) gets - culminating in a national near-frenzy when the magic words "It giet oan" ("it is on!" in Frisian) are spoken to announce that the tour is actually taking place. The day before the race many Dutch flock to Leeuwarden to enjoy the party atmosphere that surrounds the event. The evening before the race called the "Nacht van Leeuwarden" (Night of Leeuwarden) becomes a giant city-wide street party (Frisians, who have a reputation of surliness, are said to thaw when it freezes). At the day of the race most Frisians and Dutchmen either stay home to watch the race on television or find a place along the route to cheer on the skaters.
Meanwhile, the city of Amsterdam has closed the sluices that flush the city's canals at night, and declared the smaller canals of West-Amsterdam (where I live) closed to all traffic so that the ice will quickly reach a safe thickness to permit skating on the canals. I've only ever done that twice in my time here and would dearly love to do it again!
I'll post updates if this actually goes ahead!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfstedentocht#History
Rock On and keep the Faith
