New: 5 km long artificial skating track in Holland

[RobM]

This winter there will be opening up a new skating track in Holland. It is a 5 km long artificial ice track, situated in Biddinghuizen in the province Flevoland. The owning organization promises that the track will open in december this year and that it stays open for three months each winter.

The skating track starts with a "normal" 400m speed skating oval track and from there a 5 meter wide, 5 kilometer long track starts and ends. The track curls around with turns in both directions. Next to the skating track there is a 6 meter wide skeeler track (rullskridsko), to use in summertime.

More information on www.flevonice.nl, which stands for "Flevoland On Ice". To see a map of the track, click on "De Baan" and then on "Plattegrond" in the dropdown menu.

Click again on "De Baan" and then on "In vogelvlucht" to see a designed picture. The track is not ready yet. They are working very hard. On january 9th 2008 there should be the first marathon skating race with all Dutch favourites, including Henk Angenent, the winner of the last 200km Elvastadloppet, if all goes well.

I think Hollands LSK will certainly go and test this track in december!

/Rob.

 

[Rajjan]

Dubbelriktad trafik

Spännande att man planerar en kortare sträcka (i öster/till höger) som är dubbelriktad. Läge för lite skydd?

Kul annars, men svårt med högersvängar, testa gärna översteg till höger, inte det lättaste ;-)

 

[thureb]

Ser väldigt ambitiöst

och trevligt ut på kartan.

Hur finansieras det? Vad kommer det att kosta om man vill åka en dag?

Hur är kommunikationerna från Amsterdam och Shiphol? Flevoland är provinsen rakt öster om Amsterdam och distansen från Amsterdam till Biddinghuizen är ca 40 km.

Thure

 

[RobM]

Some research to FlevOnIce

Hur finansieras det?
Thure

There is no open calculation about the financing of this project. But in answers to questions from people in the village council of Biddinghuizen, there are some figures shown. The total investment in the track is about 18 million euro, that is around 162 million SEK. About 75% is brought up by participants and stockholders, investors who think it will be a good financial project. The other 25% has not been made public. Also two companies, Aggreko and Ice-World, are supporting this project. Together they play a big role already in artificial ice-tracks in Europe. They deliver the ice-system and ice-maintenance. Next to the track will arise 24 big glycol-coolers, completely noise isolated to "remain the feeling of skating on natural ice in silence".

Vad kommer det att kosta om man vill åka en dag?Thure

The pricelist is as follows:
Adults, weekdays, 12 euro for whole day, open from 9:00 to 21:00
Adults, friday and weekend, 15,- euro for whole day
Childeren up to 14 years old, 7,50 euro whole day
With discount on 10 times card. Groups may use 10 times card.
Price of skatinglessons on request.
Parking free.

They expect to get between 3500 and 5000 people a day during weekends.

Hur är kommunikationerna från Amsterdam och Shiphol? Flevoland är provinsen rakt öster om Amsterdam och distansen från Amsterdam till Biddinghuizen är ca 40 km.
Thure

Public transport will not be so good as elsewhere in Holland. By train from Schiphol, you have to go to Lelystad, and then by bus to Biddinghuizen. I can´t find if the bus is stopping at FlevOnIce yet, but maybe they will plan this when the track opens. But it will take you at least more than 1,5 hour. By car is easier, Flevoland still is a "quite" region (but compared to Sweden busy). It will take you less than an hour by rental car from Schiphol.

Spännande att man planerar en kortare sträcka (i öster/till höger) som är dubbelriktad.

In the "plattegrond", schaatsbaan means skridskobana, and skeelerbaan means rullskridskobana. As I can see it, the two way piece is only for skeelering, not for skating. But, it remains strange. I wil try to ask this at the info emailaddress what they have in mind with this.

I will keep this forum posted when the track opens!

/Rob.

 

[RobM]

The 5 km track opens 1 december 2007

The 5-km skating track in Biddinghuizen, Holland, already opens the 1st of december! There will be a special price for the first weekend: for 5 euro you can skate all day, both on the 1st and 2nd of december.

Will report here again as soon as I have been there.
/Rob.

 

[RobM]

Opening postponed

Last weekend the 5 km track in Biddinghuizen in Holland should have been opened for skating. On friday there were the last tests being done by famous skaters, doing the whole 5 km track, to get the attention of the big newspapers here in Holland.

But, in the night from friday to saturday 1st of december, we had a heavy storm in Holland. The ice on the latest frozen part of the track was not strong enough and blew up. According to the website of FlevOnIce there "normally is no risk for blowing up when the ice is there already for longer than a week, because enough frost will then be in the ground under. The part that blew up had only ice since a few days and the ground was not cold enough yet". I really hope this is true and not just a story to explain the situation to the newspapers. No pictures have been released on the track´s website.

The opening has been postponed to somewhere next week. Now it gets exciting, because Hollands LSK has the annual meeting planned on 16 december in Biddinghuizen.....

/Rob.

 

[novas husse]

Längdskidor i Högbo bruk

Kolla in vårat (stundtals) grymma konstfrusna spår. I början när det var varmt och eländigt så hade det vissa likheter med detta spår.

http://www.sandviken.se/kulturfriti...ogbopayski.4.3d9ad7e5113256f03db80003879.html

 

[RobM]

Open!

Last sunday, 16 december 2007, the track in Biddinghuizen opened. They were very lucky with the weather last week: -1 up to -4 each night, during the day maximum +3.

Hollands LSK had the annual meeting on the track and it was very succesful. The track feels very natural, I think they have done a wonderful job. We can skate again in Holland! I hope it keeps working with warm weather. And I hope the exploitation will be profitable.

Two close-ups of the track, plus the overview from the air (last picture with permission from FlevOnIce):

 

[thureb]

Kul att det fungerar

I Stockholm har inte ens ÖIP öppnat trots minusgrader en vecka. För sjuttiofjortonde gången har man lyckats paja kylrören med olämpiga sommaraktiviteter.

Men nu har vi återigen naturisar.

En fin resa man skulle kunna göra är att flyga billigt med Ryan Air till Eindhoven åka skridskor i Flevoland och besöka den omtalade utställningen med holländska porträtt på Mauritshuis i Haag där det bl a visas unika privatäga Rembrandttavlor t ex från Buckingham Palace.

http://www.mauritshuis.nl/index.aspx?SiteID=56 Sista dagen är 13 januari. http://www.waandersrembrandtcollectie.nl/pages/boek_en.php?ID=5


Thure

 

[n_zackrisson]

Fina bilder Rob!

Tack för mailet i söndags, jag satt hemma och jobbade med mitt examensarbete (scriptie) på min födelsedag :-( när ni var ut och åkte.

Banan verkar jättefin, men jag hoppas att Ankeveen och Loosdrechtse plassen snart fryser!

Is dit van vandaag? Er staat "Toegevoegd: 18 december 2007"
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=Az0p9i1ZUXY

Gr
Niklas

 

[RobM]

Ankeveen

Ja, filmen på YouTube var igår! Men bara 20 - 25 meter långt på en kanal 20cm djup.

Jag hoppas att jag kan göra en isobservation på skridsko.net för Ankeveen idag eller imorgon. Kanske "med tvekan åkbar". Vi ska se.

/Rob.