The Netherlands is waiting 24 winters for a cold moment like this. Not too windy, not too snowy, and the temperature drops like a bicycle in a canal. This is because these are the exact conditions required for the ultimate Dutch sporting event: a 200-kilometer skating race on frozen waterways through 11 cities in Friesland.
This is known as the Elfstedentocht. And it’s pronounced … do not worry about it.
Because it depends so much on the climate, the race has only been held 15 times since 1909, most recently in 1997. There has never been such a drought. The Dutch were worried that climate change would mean they would never have enough cold or long enough again – until they stepped outside last weekend and found that the weather was starting to work together in their teens.
There’s only one problem now: the Elfstedentocht stars are in the midst of a pandemic. Under the current Covid-19 restrictions in the Netherlands, the race would not be allowed, even if the ice becomes thick enough.
Dutch motorcyclists have not stopped watching the weather and their government and praying for a way to make it possible. The most famous people in the country are currently meteorologists.