Elfstedentocht, the tour of tours

Sometimes, very occasionally, I spot a thin layer of ice on the ditches. And my heart always leaps with joy then. Would we be able to skate on real ice again this winter? Lovely in the cold, past meadows and greenhouses. Hot drinks and snacks, good company. It always gives me a bit of a nostalgic feeling. If *I* feel that way, how would it be for the members of the Association 'The Frisian Eleven Cities' then perish? And the district heads, who have to measure the thickness of the ice at least once a day during prolonged frost? For would this winter finally be the sixteenth Eleven city tour can be ridden? The 'De Friesche Elf Steden' Association could not wish for a more beautiful gift for its 100th anniversary in January 2009, it seems to me. The last Elfstedentocht, ridden in 1997, gave us the beautiful stamp above. Bate described this stamp in his article. Playing (with images) photos of November 9th. This is also the only stamp truly dedicated to the Elfstedentocht. It is actually remarkable that there is only one. After all, the tour of tours is a household name in the Netherlands. Skating two hundred kilometers in a single day past the eleven Frisian cities: Leeuwarden (start), Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker, Dokkum, and Leeuwarden (finish). Skating for hours over canals and lakes, through meadows and under bridges. Cheered on by hundreds of thousands of spectators. For most avid skaters, the Elfstedentocht is the ultimate challenge. So, waiting and hoping…. And what we can enjoy in the meantime is the long-track speed skating. Stamps of this can be found galore. Issued by many countries.   Japan 1952 Hungary 1955      Rusland 1966 Ras al Khaimah 1967 Speed ​​skating is extremely popular in our country. The Netherlands has grown into the leading nation when it comes to long-track speed skating.    Fujeira 1968                                      Rusland 1972   Maldives 1976 Tanzania 1994 Among the men, two world records are held by the Dutchman Sven Kramer, namely the 5.000 meters in 6:03.32 and the 10.000 meters in 12:41.69. Both records date back to 2007.   Dominica 1997   Russia 2006 Ukraine 2003 In January 2009, there will be more on the Postzegelblog about long-track speed skating. A unique stamp booklet will be released then featuring 8 Dutch skaters who won one or more European titles in Heerenveen. And in the meantime, we will continue to look just as positively as Goofy and Donald do on this cheerful stamp from Bhutan, and hope for an Elfstedentocht.         Bhutan 1988