All it takes is one snowflake to fall in the Netherlands for Elfsteden fever to strike. Even now that it has been 27 years since the last tour was held, enthusiasts continue to hope for a new edition. For lack of anything better – unless you are satisfied with an Eleven Cities Swimming Tour or the 'Alternative Eleven Cities Tour' on an Austrian lake – can we turn the Eleven Cities Tour into a street race?
To answer that question straight away: yes, but no. Yes, because the Waterland van Friesland organization has already mapped out a route that passes through the eleven Frisian cities. No, because street racing is prohibited. Then we'll just make it a quiet road trip, right? You could do the Elfstedentocht by car in one day.
Driving the Elfstedentocht with a car
The route for motorists and (motor) cyclists runs past the fountains of 11Fountains. Eleven artists were allowed to place one fountain in each Elfstedentocht city in honor of the skating competition. That's easy for our route, because you can just go to the fountains et voilà: you have the Elfstedentocht by car.
The Waterland Friesland route does not start in Leeuwarden, but in Dokkum. From there you drive past Leeuwarden, Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindelopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker and then finish in the Frisian capital. You can find the exact route at Waterland of Friesland. The entire route does not fit into one Google Maps route, which is why we have split the tour into two parts below.
How long does the Eleven Cities Tour take by car?
If you had completed the entire trip, you would have added almost 200 kilometers to the odometer, just as far as the skaters had to trudge. According to Google Maps you should participate in the Elfstedentocht four o'clock can drive a car, if you obey the traffic rules. By the way, Waterland van Friesland thinks that it is best to allow five days or even two weeks for the tour.
If you want to break the record for the fastest Eleven Cities Tour, you will have to be faster than five days. The fastest Elfstedentocht ever is in the name of Evert van Benthem. In 1985 he won the thirteenth edition of the skating tour. Van Benthem reaches the finish after 6 hours and 47 minutes. You could easily achieve that, even with some stops at the fountains.
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