| Velsen Night skate, Holland, May 2003 May 2003, the Velsen Night Skate was born! Organised by the same people who set up the Haarlem Night Skate (HNS).(both on Wednesdays). No surprise there, because Velsen is a place just north of Haarlem, a few kilometres from the ice rink where the HNS starts. (20km west of Amsterdam). Because the city of Haarlem allows for just one night skate a month during the summer, it's an excellent opportunity to organise the same in Velsen, so one can skate every fortnight. It had rained during the day and it was not sure whether it would stop in time. The sun fought a heavy battle and won. At the beginning of the evening the roads were dry, a bit chilly, but good skating conditions. This first skate started out very slow within the city limits, but soon as we got out in the open the speed increased, but still at a recreational pace. However, I noticed the group getting smaller, so I guess some beginners had to stay behind. soon we headed to Spaarnwoude, a recreational area between Velsen, Haarlem and Amsterdam. This place is the skate Mecca of Holland: plenty of cycling tracks, no cars. This time the police escort let us roll on the roads too. Cars had to wait, skaters first :-). At the indoor ski slope, food and beverage were offered. After a break we returned to Velsen. |
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| Peter Nikkel. |
