Thoughts on Speed Skating & Therefore Cycling
Probably the best decision I made when I moved to Amsterdam for my University exchange semester was telling myself that while in the Netherlands I should learn to speed skate. In true Canadian fashion skating has been a huge part of my life for over 15 years, so I figured, when in Rome! Or in this case Amsterdam. Ā The Dutch are the best at speed skating in the world. As evidenced by:
In Amsterdam speed skating takes place outdoors primarily at the Jaap Eden Ban (pronounced something like Yop Eden Bon) on a large track. The name has always reminded me of a highway (German?) and really it is not so different when one considers the speed at which the average dutchie (not I) rounds the corners. The rink is beautifully bordered by trees and lit up at night with hanging strings of light.Ā
Thoughts on Speed Skating
Its' absolutely nothing like figure skating. Shouldnāt I have expected that? Maybe. When I decided that this was something I was going to do (one has the luxury of trying ridiculous things on exchange) I signed up at the gym and emailed the instructor Kees (so dutch!).
When on my first day he handed me a pair of speed skates and even helped tie them up for me I realized I was in for an experience. Firstly, speed skates have no ankles. None. What fun?! Theyāre literally slippers (bowling shoes maybe!) with long knives attached to the bottom. iāll admit I immediately longed for my skates back in Canada.
The result: I speed skate funny. Although the years of figure skating did me a lot of good in the balance department, it didnt transfer directly to an ability to round corners wickedly fast in speed skates. Shockingly I skate in speed skates like a figure skater. Albeit very slowly - I did take some enjoyment in the fact that I fell much less often than the other beginners. Ā Ā
Inevitably when the winter ends the ice melts. On a sunny Friday in late March Kees Ā (I so wish I could describe him perfectly) told me that this was the last day of speed skating and that tomorrow we cycled. Ā Ā
It wasnāt a question.Ā Ā Ā
And that dear friends is how I got into cycling or fietsen in dutch. Which is why at 10:30am on a summers morning in July I am on the way to work (a little late Iāll admit) having already cycled 2 hours and 40km through the dutch countryside. Holland is very flat (thank goodness) and beautiful. The weather is mild and although it rains a bunch, still very comfortable for cycling. People are kind and this morning while it briefly poured rain we took cover in a barn of a farm we were flying by in an area called Waterland. The farmer in a good natured tone (I have no idea what he said) Ā invited us to.
I have an intense love and hate relationship with cycling. Ā Ā
Getting outside of Amsterdam (its really quite small so this is not very difficult)
Ā Seeing the countryside and visiting adorable small towns that look like they belong in a Disney movie
The wildlife! Bunnies and ducks, lambs and cows. Throughout the spring so far I have seen lambing season (my favourite) ducks and their ducklings following in row, baby bunnies (hundreds) on morning bike rides and even baby swans.
I feel āgreatā afterwards. As in, I feel absolutely awful, but I know its because I just completed a hell of a lot of exercise. Itās a good thingĀ
That I am REALLY slow. Iād like to blame this on genetics and the fact I did not learn to cycle at age 3 so that I can continue to think of myself as an averagely fit person.Ā
My complaints really end there. Just working on being dutch.Ā
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