7. Workum
Halfway
Listen Henk Gemser: In Workum I looked at my stamp card and saw there were already six stamps on it, and Bolsward was in sight. “Well then”, I thought, “I’m getting on nicely”. Silly, but your level of awareness is also getting very low of course. Then someone called out: “Come on! You’re already halfway”. But I thought I had already passed that point long ago, and I had already experienced so many terrible setbacks. At that moment I just fell through the ice. Not literally of course, but I really had to get a hold of myself again. Only halfway... It was then that I really got to know the route and the distances of the Eleven-towns tour. Wartema, 24, stock farmer: “When we reached Workum, a policeman said to me: you don’t need to hurry, because so far not even 10 tour skaters have passed. Then I said: that makes no difference, but we have to milk the cows again this evening. The policeman looked at me in disbelief and said: “Well, you’d better take the train then”. George Schweigmann: Then I looked back and to my amazement I saw a long straight canal lying behind me and not a single skater to be seen on it. Then I thought: “Am I skating the Eleven-towns Tour or what? I don’t see anyone!” I saw only a small group skating in front of me, but behind me I saw nobody. Then I suddenly twigged on. There won’t be many of them. Not many will make it. Pictures: Tour skaters walking on skates through Workum Competition skaters passing Workum