The Eleven Cities Cycling Tour ( nl, Fietselfstedentocht, West Frisian: ''Alvestêdetocht op de fyts'') was originally a

bicycle race "Bicycle Race" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song "Fat Bottomed Girls", rea ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, but now, due to the number of participants, has become a

bicycle tour Bicycle touring is the taking of self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Bicycle touring can range from single-day trips to extended travels spanning weeks or months. Tours may be ...

. It is the cycling counterpart of the

Elfstedentocht The ''Elfstedentocht'' (; West Frisian: ''Alvestêdetocht'' , English: ''Eleven cities tour'') is a long-distance tour skating event on natural ice, almost long, which is held both as a speed skating competition (with 300 contestants) and a lei ...

ice-skating tour which is held irregularly on frozen waterways in the same region.

History

Due to the popularity of the Eleven Cities Skating tour, a similar tour was hosted for cyclists in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1912 the first cycling tour was organised. It started out as a competition, and was organised when the skating counterpart wasn't organised due to the weather. Since 1947, the tour has been organised annually on

Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. I ...

, a Dutch

Bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

. Although the tour started out as a race, from 1958 it was hosted as a tour in order to prevent serious injuries. Due to popular interest by non-professional cyclist, and the sometimes less-ideal conditions of the road, it was considered to be too dangerous to race. To prevent enthusiasts from racing anyway, participants are to keep in mind a maximum average speed of 25 km/h between check points.

Route

The cycling tour's route differs from its counterpart on skates: the cycling tour starts and ends in

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on thr ...

rather than in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

. The tour takes the participants through the eleven ancient cities of the province of Frisia. The tour is currently limited to 15,000 entrants. Between 05:00 and 08:00, entrants leave Bolsward every eight minutes in batches of 600 participants. Those who complete the 235 km tour before midnight are entitled to a medal.

Types of bicycles

While most participants use a

racing bicycle A racing bicycle, also known as a road bike is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by and according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Racing bicycles are designed for maximum performance ...

, other types of bikes can be seen as well. A small percentage participates on

tandem bicycles A tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle (occasionally a tricycle) designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement (fore to aft, not side by side), not the number of riders. Patents rela ...

, European city bicycles both with and without gears,

rowing cycles A rowing cycle is a wheeled vehicle propelled by a rowing motion of the body. Steering, braking, and shifting are usually done by the handlebars. Feet are on symmetrical foot rests, as opposed to rotating pedals. Unlike many rowing boats, the rider ...

and

handcycles A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having ...

. Even

penny-farthing The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds (owing to its travelling a large distance for every r ...

s have been used for the tour.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Home page ''Stichting Friese Elfsteden Rijwieltocht Bolswaard'' (''Fries Eleven Cities Cycling Tour Foundation''). Dutch website with English, French and Germans summaries
Cycling in Friesland Cycling events