Next Amsterdam Skate: 23rd – 25th April 2010 

Amsterdam; smooth tarmac, generous cycle lanes and the most respectful motorists ever seen. And of course the obvious advantage, not an uphill in sight (the only slopes are bridges).

The Skatefresh tour hooks up with local skaters for their own Friday night skate starting at 8pm which tours the city and ends at about 10.30pm with their own version of the Vic. Amsterdam’s Friday night skate is not as fast as London’s Friday night skate and anyone capable of the Sunday stroll will only need to extend themselves a little to keep up. The lovely surfaces will make that achievable with ease. Instructors will be on hand to help you out if you need it.Some new obstacles (tram lines) may need negotiating but skating in Amsterdam is easier than London.

On Friday 23rd April, we will meet up in the evening before the Friday night street skate,  which starts at 8.30pm for the official start of the weekend tour. 

Saturday 24th April sees us leaving the city to the east (via a trip to the local skate shop) and skating to Marken, (an island community connected to the mainland by a road) along elevated cycle tracks surrounded by fields and water. It isn’t very often that we get the opportunity to skate in the countryside, away from traffic, noise, pollution and the urban madness that is London. It is a whole different experience being surrounded by water, big skies and space while you skate. This skate will help you work on your stamina and skate technique while you enjoy the spacious views. Countryside obstacles include low flying herons and geese. We break for lunch in Marken and then skate back on a different route, completing a 44km skate day. There is the option to train back to Amsterdam and shorten the mileage for the day if you wish to relax more and skate less.

On Saturday evening before dinner a special tour of the red light district is included in your package. Asha will be eating in her favourite Chinese restaurant, New King in Amsterdam’s own china town, where the house speciality is incredible wonton soup, but their prawn toast is also not to be missed (more prawns than toast). You are free to join Asha for dinner or make your own arrangements after the red light district tour.

New King Address: Zeedijk 115-117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)20 6252180
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g188590-d779071-Reviews-New_King-Amsterdam_Noord_Holland.html

Sunday 25th April we will explore the city in more detail with a route around the central and outlying areas, including Vondelpark. The tour will finish by 4pm on Sunday so as to leave sufficient time for flight connections home.

The package for the weekend is inclusive of all skate tours and tuition over the weekend and also includes the red light district tour. Several opportunities arise for lesson spots where gaps in skills can be filled in and we will use the long, flat, smooth roads and tracks to really polish our speed skating technique and work on stamina.

2.5 days of skating 120 pounds per person (discount of 15 pounds if you have been to Paris or Amsterdam with us before). You are responsible for all your meals, snacks and water while skating.

Accommodation

Accommodation and flights are yours to arrange but Asha and Mark will be staying at the Stay Okay Hostel (Vondelpark branch) where double and quadruple rooms are available.

Aim for hotels in the central area or south and east as this will make it easy for you to get to our meeting points.

Here are some other hotels of various prices for you to look at. Prices at all hotels vary acording to availability so printing them here isn’t very useful as they will change as we get closer to the skate date.

Stay Okay Hostel www.stayokay.com

You need to make your bookings individually at the Vondelpark branch of Stay Okay but if you want to stay with other skaters from our group then you need to book a double or quadruple room all together. Please let Asha know if you want to share a room but don’t know any of the other Amsterdam group members as we can then out you in touch with each other so you can make your room booking together. Quadruple rooms cost approx. 32.50 Euros per person per night with breakfast.

For travel directions to Stay Okay, see last paragraph below;

Hotel Washington Amsterdam (2 star)

Frans van Mierisstraat 10

2 nights double room £190 (approx price from www.hotels.nl website)

Hotel Ibis Amsterdam City Stopera (4 star)

2 nights, double room £232 (approx price from www.hotels.nl website)

Park Hotel www.parkhotel.nl (4-5 star)

info@parkhotel.nl Approx. 150 euros per room per night excluding breakfast.

Flights

Easyjet only announces their flight prices 4months before travel date, but booking direct online is the cheapest way to fly. BMI fly to Amsterdam from City airport. It is possible to travel to Amsterdam by train and ferry. Our travel agent Rebecca will be pleased to help you with travel and accommodation if you need.
Email:rebecca.gray.lon@flightcentre.co.uk Tel: 0207 240 5938
Travel directions to Stay Okay Hostel – Volderpark
Transportation possibilities from Schiphol Airport the hostel:
Train to Central Station, then tram to ‘Leidseplein’ (line 1, 2 or 5)
Interliner Bus 370 from Schiphol to ‘Leidseplein’
A taxi from Schiphol to the hostel should cost around € 35,00.

From Leidseplein you walk towards the Marriott Hotel. In front of the Marriott you turn left. Take the second street right = Zandpad.

Get booking as the sooner you book the cheaer it will be for you. Don’t miss this fabulous oportunity to skate one of Europe’s most interesting cities.

We’re back from Amsterdam where we enjoyed an amazing weekend…

…read all about it in the article Ed Mundo sent us:

Skaters tend to dislike hills, so it seemed like Amsterdam was an excellent choice for a skating weekend…. and it was – but not just for the obvious reason of an entirely flat landscape. First of all, the skating. We did the Friday night street skate which was about 16 miles and at a pace fairly similar to the Wednesday night skate in London, followed by a Saturday morning spin out into the beautifully serene Dutch countryside (another 13 miles), then on Sunday there was another street skate of similar pace and length to our much loved Sunday Stroll back in London. So plenty of opportunity for all levels of skaters to get their wheels spinning and with the option to indulge in all of it – if your legs could take it – or the freedom to drop out for a spell and be a tourist (as I did quite happily by the time Sunday had arrived!)

So there was as much ‘wheel time’ as you could want, but that’s only half the story. It was the settings we skated in that made it so memorable. Friday night saw a vibrant and atmospheric mix of urban and rural scenery that was always dramatic and inspiring; Saturday brought the calming tranquility of open countryside and the unusual experience of skating on a dyke with water all around us and distant windmills beckoning us towards the quaintest little harbour town you are likely to see.

And of course when we weren’t skating there was a charming and engaging city to enjoy, a group of like minded people to do it with, and what is likely to become a tradition on future trips here – a sumptuous feast in an excellent Chinese restaurant to replenish and reward us after our considerable efforts.

This was my first trip with Skatefresh and it was a great experience. If it goes again next year I would recommend it to anyone who fancies taking their skating to a new place.

also there is a video from one of the Dutch skaters to be checked out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRtD-M8EJyU and for even more check out Asha’s blog!!