Skating and trekking Tour through Holland
Wout
Skatefresh Holland Highlights Inline Tour 2005
Starting the 11th of May, the first Skatefresh Holland Highlights Inline
Tour will take place. This five-day skate, camping and trekking tour will
follow carefully made routes through the most attractive and scenic
landscapes of the Dutch countryside. Both skaters from the Netherlands and
abroad can join the tour.
The tour will pass many tourist-highlights. On skates, one will visit the
Zaanse Schans, the bulb-fields, the dunes and the old fisherman-towns on the
coast of the former Zuyderzee.
Participants will come from many countries, like Germany, Belgium and
Norway. This international character will lead to confusion of tongues,
offer opportunities to get in touch with people from other countries and to
exchange experiences with other skaters.
The tour has a quite unique set-up: Skaters who ride at the same speed will
team up in groups of 10-20 people with a guide, which enables them to stay
out of the wind and experience the best that Holland has to offer. The
set-up with small groups, the après-skate and the camping will create a good
atmosphere for a relaxed and pleasant holiday.
Arrangement of the tour
The tour visits the best tourist-highlights and scenic sites all on skates.
Distances will vary from day tot day from 50 to 75 kilometers. Every day,
lots of time can be spent enjoying the Highlights, taking a break from
skating, having a chat with fellow-skaters, and having fun during the
après-skate. The tour will start en finish in Spaarnwoude (near
Amsterdam-Airport) and will lead through Zaandam and Bergen to the
Hondsbossezeewering, Alkmaar, Hoorn, Marken, Amsterdam and the
bulbfield-area near Haarlem. Participants will spend the night on
well-facilitated campsites. Lunch will be used somewhere during the day,
while supper can be ordered in advance, so there won't be any cooking-fuzzle
after a long day of skating.
Participating
The tour is organised for experienced skaters. Though most day-distances
will be less then 70 Km, it's wise to make sure you're able to do 80 km. It
is also necessary to be able to ride at an average speed of at least 19
km/h. It is only possible to participate for the full 5 days, which cost
130,- Euro. For this price, skaters will have their luggage transported,
have breakfast, five nights on campsites (in their own tents), beautiful
trips, refreshments, an experienced guide, and a skate-insurance. Members of
the Skatebond (skaters-union) will have a five Euro discount. Entry will be
possible through the internet only: www.skatefresh.nl. The number of
participants is limited, to make sure the event won't lose its charm and
cosiness.
Organisation & Safety
The newly founded organisation SkateFresh is responsible for the event. This
Foundation is run by enthusiastic skaters, instructors, event-organisers,
and marshalls - and first-aid-staff of dutch nightskates. This tour will
take place under the supervision of the Skatebond Nederland (SBN). A lot of
time and thought has been put into the making of the skate routes, and all
routes and road surfaces have been checked by the SBN. All participants will
be insured while skating, first-aid staff will skate with us, and a van will
be available for emergencies.
Detailed information and maps of the route are available on
www.skatefresh.nl