The peace, the nature and the Race of Races (the Eleven Cities Tour) have made Friesland extremely popular with skaters but certainly also with cyclists. The Eleven Cities Tour owes its name to two men who decided in the winter of 1808 to skate past eleven towns in one day, a total of 230 kilometers. To prove they had done it, they obtained the signatures of the owners of cafés or hotels in every town. The first official Eleven Cities Tour was held in 1909.
The Frisian towns owe their rise to shipping and trade. Friesland enjoyed its hey-day between 1000 and 1500, when the settlements in southwest Friesland in particular profited. The route leads you through these towns with the green watery countryside in between, where farming usually determines the horizon.
Other important parts of the scenery consist of the numerous little bridges, that 'leap' the ditches and the sailing boats that cross the vast lakes like white swans.
Besides, attention is also paid to culture. The pictoresque villages, historic towns and the original Frisian traditional costumes complete the image of the greenest province of the Netherlands.
The route from day to day
sat Stavoren, embarkation at 4 PM near station biking to Makkum 30
sun Makkum – Franeker 45 mon Franeker – Leeuwarden 50 tue Leeuwarden – Dokkum – Leeuwarden 50 wed Leeuwarden – Sneek 42 thu Sneek – Sloten 26 fri Sloten – Stavoren 35 sat Stavoren, debarkation before 10 AM near station
1 km = 0,62 miles
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