[dr_lew]

I saw some show about speed skating which talked about some kind of skating marathon held on the canals of Holland, in years when conditions allow it. It had been some years since it had been held. I don’t suppose the canals froze this year did they?

[Flag_This]

"I saw some show about speed skating which talked about some kind of skating marathon held on the canals of Holland, in years when conditions allow it."

"Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates?"

[Othniel]

It's called the Elfstedentoch, and it's a 200-km race through 11 cities up in Friesland. Dunno if they ran it last year or in the past few. They ran it in '86.

If the conditions are right (thick ice on the canals), those registered for it who have qualified get an email informing them of the race. It's a pretty big deal, and there are a lot of other skaters who are on the B list, so to speak, who fill up remaining slots.

If you look at some of the Flemish and Dutch master paintings from the Old Days, there are a lot of them of people skating on canals. If the paintings portray actual events, and there's no reason to believe they don't, then it was a heck of a lot colder then (mini-Ice Age) than what Europe's had for the past 20 years or so.