Carmen Isabella completed The Elfstedentocht. An iconic Dutch long-distance ride passing eleven historical cities of Friesland. She described it as the hell of 2022.
“The Elfstedentocht 2022 is a bucket list ride. In the morning I was still hopeful about the weather conditions. You have to force luck, so I decided (in retrospect very naively) to just put on my white socks and shoes.
Within minutes I was completely soaked, dirty and cold, with 230 km to go. I had to push and suffer, for 10 hours. But despite the strong wind, rainfall and cold temperatures, the atmosphere was beyond memorable.
I will never forget the moment at the finish when I learned thousand participants had to quit the race due to the conditions. It’s like therapy”
