Changing Gears

Wheels of Love - Round 2

I've been told I haven't updated in a while... so here goes...

Another year, another ride over.  I wasn't sure how enthusiastic I was about doing the ride this year, and I was already contemplating maybe skipping next year… and then came Friday and I went up to Alyn to deposit my bike and got my rider's package and before I knew it, it was 5am Sunday morning and I was on the bus to Jerusalem, bumping into old friends and meeting new ones… Just as we arrived at Mt. Scopus it started pouring, everyone scattering to find cover, but I managed to find Billy and Elyse and a few other familiar faces and Silvie, the sweet newcomer, I've ridden with on several occasions and was so happy when she decided to join in on the fun.  I was happy to see Yuval was our "flying" mechanic again this year and the sweet Ron abandoned the road route and joined us as well.  As we zoomed down the road from Jerusalem to Mesada, I knew I wasn't going to pass this up next year… Even during the last little haul from the highway to the guest house where I seemed to run out of fuel and only managed to drag myself up there thanks to encouragement from Yuval.
I found out I was sharing a room with Silvie, Elyse and Viviene, all familiar lovely faces. The presence of beer during the first night was sorely missed, thank goodness some people thought about bringing booze along for the ride (how didn't I?)

On day two we rode from Mesada to Hatzeva.  We started with 20K on-road to the  Zohar junction and from there to the Pratzim dry river bed, the Sdom dry river bed, another trip around Pratzim for those who were fast enough (that wouldn't be me) and from there to the Dead Sea Works for a lunch break.  We got a very nice welcome at the DSW, and I in particular since the DSW is one of our companies.  It's really a pity I couldn't get their sponsorship in my name, the hospital got to them directly before I got a chance… I'm going to start earlier for next year, like next week, maybe I can get sponsorship from another of our subsidiaries and get credit for it.  After lunch we got back on the bikes and to the road where we proceeded to ride until we got to Ein Tamar, a pretty God forsaken place in the Arava, where we got off the road and proceeded to ride what seemed like hundreds of kilometers, but was about more like 20km, in the most horrendous terrain one can imagine.  It was like riding a washboard covered in sand and pebbles, which meant that one had to switch to a low gear and just pedal away until it was over.  It was a nightmare and when that was over…we still had a long way to go. I was pretty sure I wasn't riding anymore. My muscles were sore, my private parts were sore and I was tired.  But when we got to Hatzeva that evening, and cold bottles of beer were on hand, and after a warm shower and a hearty meal I was feeling much better already.  I hung out with and Elyse and some other people and then the best experience of the whole week happened.  Silvie told me how she'd met Orli riding that day. Orli is blind, she has been blind since she was two years old (more than 40 years) and she rides a tandem bike, one of three blind riders doing the ride this year.  Orli invited Silvie to the bonfire they were having and Silvie invited me and Elyse and so eventually we went to warm ourselves by the fire.  At first it was a bit awkward, people who know me will say I am outgoing, but in truth, I have a real hard problem approaching strangers, so at first there were a few moments of silence, and then I started talking to Eli who was sitting next to me.  We have since become very close friends, and I feel so lucky for meeting him, Orli and the rest of their angels, Oded, Benji, Ron, Yuval and Chen, who is Eli's right hand and eyes.  These people impressed me so much. Eli and Orli for being able to see more without their eyes than most people do, for not giving up when times are tough, for being so active and so positive. I found out that Orli not only rides, but she is actually the driving force behind their riding group.  I found out she's a great cook and hostess, I found out that she is a gifted photographer and a talented carpenter.  Eli too is very active, he goes spinning almost every day, he runs a business, and he finds time to help out a friend who has been suffering from shellshock.  He is so determined to live a happy and full life despite his disabilities, and every time we speak with him I am more and more in awe of him.
The minute I clicked with this gang it was "true love", I spent most of the rest of the ride with them and every time I was close to saying I had had enough, there they were, zooming past me, giving me the encouragement to finish the next little bit.
From what I am writing now, one would gather that the ride was very difficult for me. The physical aspect of it wasn't so bad, but the chafing made sitting on the bike very difficult. Every time I chose to get off the bike I had to think twice about how it would feel to sit back down, at some point in the ride I just became proficient in riding standing up…

On day three we rode from Hatzeva to Yahel.  It was another 100K day (as were the two days prior).  We started on the road to the Nekarot riverbed, we rode through Nekarot, to Ashosh, to Barak and Pharan and back to the road at Kushi Rimon's and a 27K ride on the road with headwinds to Yahel.  Because it was a long day, it was determined that only people who would get to Kushi's by 3pm will be able to continue on the road and that anyone who came in after that will have to be bussed.  Since riding the road on chunky wheels against the wind did not appeal to me, I decided to take my time and enjoy the day.  When I finally got to Kushi's I found Eli, Orli and Benji waiting. They decided not to go on. Oded on the other hand, took Silvie for a ride on the tandem.  I don't believe she's quite recovered yet…

That evening Silvie and Elyse went to sleep at Ktura and I stayed at Yahel, and the gang was sleeping in the room across from mine, so we further got a chance to get acquainted.  We ate a horribly oily dinner together, drank together, sat at another bonfire courtesy of Chen and finally had a decent night's sleep.

Day four was supposed to be our rest day. Ha!  Only 45K from Yahel to Shacharut, but with headwinds most of the day and sand storms, the ride just took forever.  It was a nice ride though, and I was starting to feel a little better and again I had the encouragement of good friends.  When we got to Shacharut we discovered that the men were sleeping in one tent the women in another (the one farther away from the bathrooms…) and that there were only three showers for each gender.  The gang was planning to go sleep at Kibbutz Samar as Eli didn't want to stay.  Then Oded came and said that there were rooms available right there for 400NIS per room. Eli told him that if he can get two rooms for that price they will stay.  They agreed to the new price and they ended up staying.  Eli invited me to stay in their room, which I refused, but I didn't refuse the use of a private shower… That night after having dinner at the large tent, we lit another bonfire and ended up sleeping in its smoke. Not the best way to wake up to day 5, but the end was almost there.

Before we went to bed Eli was predicting the winds would be with us on Thursday. It was hard to believe him, but I guess while he can't see the here and now he can see into the future… Once again there were time constraints and we were told that if we weren't going to make it to the off-road portion of the ride by 10am we would have to continue on the road.  I had a slow start to the day and of course I didn't make the cutoff time, so I stayed on the road, the winds, as Eli had predicted were with us all the way.  I reached the gathering point at around 11:30. All the rest of the riders were supposed to get there by 12noon for lunch and then we were supposed to descend to Eliat together.  Rumors started circulating that the roadies were falling apart on the way and had to be picked up and bussed to the gathering point, and we waited and waited, and waited, and we could have all ridden the off road portion of the ride after all.  The Roadies started showing up at around 2pm and we had more than three hours to sit in the sun (or shade for those who were lucky to find it).

Once everyone had gotten there, eaten and rested we had one final climb up the Hizkiyahu Mountain and a wonderfully fast descent into Eilat.  While the gang fixed and unpacked the tandems I let Eli and Orli to their rooms.  When I located my room I discovered I was sharing with a group of teenaged girls and freaked out (there were eight of them and were very loud and the line to get into the showers seemed way too long.  I immediately ran over to Orli's and told her I was using hers. In the end Oded said he was going to sleep at the beach that night (even angels need some rest sometimes) and that I can have his bed…

That evening we had a big party at the Sport Hotel in Eilat.  Good food, a performance by the Black Hebrews and lots of twirling on the dance floor with Eli, who is an awesome dancer.  The only downside was that the mechanics were stuck at the hostel unpacking bikes and couldn't join us for the celebrations, which they totally deserved to be a part of (something to emphasize to the organizers next year…).

Friday morning was full of emotional goodbyes.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to say goodbye to everyone as we were pretty much rushed to get on the buses for the long ride back home.

Overall it was an awesome experience. I'm still finding it hard to come back to earth. The desert views, the new friendships, the old ones, all left me with the appetite for more.
Next year's routes have already been announced, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, y'all know, I'm going to be there…

Spring in the Desert

Thursday afternoon Ran called me to tell me he was organizing a ride for Friday and would I open it on groopy as his internet connection was down.  I wasn't so sure I was in a mood for a ride but I said what the heck.  When I went to bed Thursday night there were only five of us registered for the ride.  I don't usually ride in such small groups.

I woke up at 4am and met up with Gershon on the Ayalon Hashalom Offramp, our usual meeting place.  We loaded the bike into the car an proceeded to ride to what is defined as "End of the World, Turn left" to a place called Ezuz.  Ezuz is a moshav established in 1985 on the Israeli-Egyptian border.  To call it a moshav is a bit far fetched, from what I could gather there are four families living there (though their phone book indicates 9...). It is defined as a desert-tourism community.  When we arrived there we were greeted by a little girl who offered us one of her puppies to take home.  I was tempted but decided that a desert puppy won't be happy in a cramped apartment in Givatayim.

There were just six of us, which was unusual but also very refreshing, the comradary was great.  Two weeks ago there were heavy rains in the south and our entire route was sprouting green grass and beautiful flowers, quite uncommon for the area.  It was quite a sight.

The route was 40 kilometers, we started in Azuz, via the Azuz Riverbed, the Matnan Riverbed, up to Kadesh Barne'a and back to Azuz.  For this time of the year the weather was wonderful and breezy even though we spent most of the day in the sun we barely felt it.  We had zero malfunctions, and no serious injuries aside than my pulling my leg muscle yet again, but Ran's  supply of drugs (magnesium, potassium, salts and a few other elements on the chemicals chart) kept me going.  For the first time in months the after effects I usually experience after a ride did not appear.  My leg hurt like hell though so tomorrow I need to make an appointment to see what's going on. In the meantime, I'm putting the bike to bed until Friday night's Full Moon ride.

New Year, New Ride

My  34th birthday was Tuesday.  This year it coincided with the saddest day of the year, Yom Hazikaron, or Remembrence Day, for those who do not speak Hebrew, so big celebrations were a bit of a problem, what's more, I am not too big on birthday celebrations, or at least organizing them.

Odd as it felt for me, I decided to go out for breakfast with Rappy.  We went to a place called Lucas', had Eggs Benedict (which did not come close to those at Slack Alice's in TO where I first tasted them) and some Champaign drinks. At some point my friends Shelly and Dandan came by and surprised me. It was a fun, low key morning. After walking around Shenkin street I came home for a bit of a rest and in the evening we went out for Independence Day celebrations (only in Israel are the saddest and happiest days of the year separated by 60 seconds).  Rappy went with a friend to do some folk dancing, and I went to "shira be'tzibur", or I guess the vocal version of folk dancing where I met with my friend Eyal. It was pretty 'dry' at first, and the sound system was horrible, but as time went on it got better and better and more and more crowded, apparently busses started arriving and mostly religious youth started swarming the place.  I retired close to 1:30am having plans for a ride the next morning.

The ride the next morning followed the path of the battles of the Givati Battallion during the war of Independence. All members of the riding group were old enough to be my parents (some old enough to be my grandparents) but they were a fun bunch.  I got home around noon and prepared myself for Independence Day festivities, that is, the BBQ, or as it is known in Israel the Mangal. (Insert joke, what's the difference between a BBQ and a Mangal?  To the first you wear a shirt...only Israeli's will understand this one I think).  I hung out with my riding buddies for most of the afternoon and had a very nice time.  Then I came home and passed out.

More birthday celebrations next week, we are doing a full moon ride.

In other news, today I got an email letting me know that registration for the Alyn bike ride will begin May 8th, that's four days from now. Ouch.  I don't quite know that I have the money for registration right now, but I'll have to find it somewhere.  I'm thinking maybe I'll ask for the company's contibution early... just in case I am not here come September...
And then, it's the start of the fundraising campaign...
From the initial description of the route it doesn't seem too exciting (at least not for one who spent all winter long criss crossing the Negev), but I realize that it's much harder leading a group of 100+ in the desert than a group of 20.  No matter what the route, I am still very much looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.

In the meantime there are a few long distance challenges ahead for me.  At the begining of June, the gang wants to ride from Jerusalem to the Jerusalem Beach in Tel Aviv and the week after that we want to do a two day ride from Ashkelon ot Eilat.  I'm not sure if I'll do both or neither actually since I will be having company from Canada and my vacation days are running low, very low.

Ascending and Decending

This is pretty much what my past week has been like.  Full of ups and downs, both literally and figuratively.

I was very excited about Passover.  To begin with it was a whole week away from the office.  I was in a way happy about not doing a Seder this year, but once Rappy and Totem left me after our Passover dinner it was kind of a downer, I actually missed the big family affair more than I thought I would.

Then my break started off with a couple of really nice rides. Mostly enjoyed because of the company I kept during these rides.  I was on a total high, and then when they were over, I was down again.  I decided not to ride for a few days, hoping the down time will give me some time to focus on my art stuff, but I couldn't find the muse I required.

So Friday I decided to go for a ride in the Megido Forest.  The ride was defined as easygoing, 28kilometers in the shade.  The shady part was mostly true, the rest was all lies.  It wasn't easygoing at all, we just kept climbing and climbing and climbing, and when we finally found a descent, when we got to the bottom of it we discovered we took the wrong route and that we needed to climb back up again.  When we returned to the cars, the speedometer showed excactly 45kilometers.  It was fun though.  I got home and went to sleep until Saturday morning when I had the second installment of my Mountain Goats course. 

The second installment of the Mountain Goats course was all about descents and turns.  When we arrived on the Carmel mountain we were greeted by a swarm of mosquitos and a smiling Adam, an instuctor with the sweetest disposition.  We started our lessons with descending down rocks, it was easy enough, well easier that climbing them for sure.  Then we started practicing our turns.  We started with open turns at first and then we moved to the closed turns and the switchbacks.   Once again I started overthinking everything, which got me a little confused and frustrated, but Adam's a good teacher, so eventually I got it ok more or less.  Now I just need to practice a little more, though my body I think, has had a bit too much and is starting to scream it needs a bit of a rest which I think I am finally willing to give it, at least until next class, unless of course, someone tries to sell me some more crank before then, for the habit you see, it is too stong.

Mountain Goats Climb

I went to the first installment of my Mountain Goat course yesterday. We worked on climbing. As usual when theory is introduced into my life I get confussed, kind of like the first time present simple and present progressive were introduced into my life... All of a sudden it'a about technique (yay, I can do a proper willy now) and timing. The technique part I got down ok, however once timing is involved I find that I am overthinking everything.  Also I felt tired and we started rather late so the heat was affecting me. I did not do too gloriously in this class. Adam and Niel, our instructors told us that it takes 100 repetitions before one actually gets proficient at a technique and it becomes natural. So here's to 100 repetitions. I have two weeks to practice until our next class. I think the hardest thing is being very self conscious not only because I am overthinking stuff, but also because there are 10 sets of eyes watching my every move. I have a lot of travelling planned for the next couple of weeks, hopefully the terraine will allow me to practice a little.  Next class is all about the downhill, stuff I'm actually quite good at already, maybe I won't feel so self conscious then.

While I was at my course, my riding buddies were riding in Nachal Tze'elim and an accident happened, which has really shaken me and everyone else up. The group was riding on a shelf on the side of the canyon, and my friend Karin, somehow lost control and fell off the shelf and dropped down about twelve meters. She lost consciousness and 669, the Air Force's special rescue unit had to be called up with a chopper to take her to the hospital. Her dad was with her, and I can only imagine his shock at seeing his daughter plummet like that. The good news is that despite the very nasty fall, she only broke her nose (again) and arm, it could have ended up much worse. Everyone is really shaken up though, I don't know that we will be riding as a group in the near future. I get queezy every time I think about it.  I hope she has a quick recovery and that this experience won't keep her away from her bike for too long.

Day five and Josh has still not taken a shower. Ruthie confirmed to me yesterday, that he was the same at her house. I think today I will point blank take out a new towel and hand it to him with clear instructions as to where he will find the soap. I believe Ruthie owes me big time for this one. Though after all she has done for me over the years, I guess I shouldn't actually ask for debt repayment. The worse thing though, isn't that he doesn't shower, it's simply that a stranger's presence in one's home, is totally crippling, at least to me. I cannot clean or do my art, or just lay on the sofa with a good book and quiet music, without feeling uncomfortable, I feel like I've been sent to my room, only the person punishing me is me...Oh heck, it will all be over in a couple of days.  When I think of all the money I paid for therapy so I can get myself out of these situations...

In other news, I have my ticket booked for my summer vacation. I leave Tel Aviv for Toronto on June 29th. I have a flight to Vancouver on July 6th returning to Toronto Julye 11th and returning back to Israel July 23rd. Now all that is left is actually ticketing, and as usual, I am stalling because I am indecisive about things. I promised my agent and answer tomorrow morning.

Sea To Sea or How to Cross a Country in Two Days

I'm still recouperating from my weekend adventures.  My bike's bruises are being tended to at the shop as I write, my body will need a few more restful days for the sore muscles and bruises to heal though.

I had an awesome adventure. 

Thursday night I baked a bunch of goodies for the my riding companions as per their orders/requests, packed my stuff and went to sleep relatively early. Unfortunately I had one hour less to sleep due to daylight savings. I got up at 5am on Friday and Itzik picked me up, chronically late as usual...
We drove South to Kibbutz Zikim.  For those of you not familiar with Israeli geography, Zikim is not too far from the Gaza Strip and within very close range of the Kassam rockets.  We loaded up the car that was going to take our stuff to our night stop, got on our bikes and scrambled to get out of range...

We pretty much rode along the border line and then inland.  The first day was very long 87.5 kilometers, with cumulative climbs of about 1200m.  We passed by Sderot (home of Amir Peretz, leader of the Labor party, a few popular rock groups and one Miri Bohadana.  Saw the Shikmim Ranch, home of our comatose Prime Minister and continued to the Ruchama Badlands (that's what the sign says I swear). A bit further East and from there Southward to our resting place for the night, Kibbutz Kramim. Why is it that the comfy (everything is relative) bed is always at the top of a hill?  After 11 hours on and off our bikes nothing felt better than a hot shower and clean cloths.  The fact that dinner was pretty gross didn't matter we ate it anyway.  The majority of the gang went to bed early, some of us stayed up for coffee and then the baked goods began to appear... According to Polar users, over 5000 calories a day were lost but I believe at least double that amount was gained. 

I learned the true meaning of the  Ran the Apothecary's nickname that evening, when brought out his medicine chest (well it wasn't really a chest but a huge tupperware box) and started distributing its contents amongs all the 'sufferrers'.  The funny thing is that everyone took what he dispensed, as though he were a doctor, no questions asked.  The man claims not to be a hypochondriac, I'm not so sure of that.

Before we went to bed, Ze'ev pulled out a huge bag with breakfast for day two. He brought bread and jam and cheese and veggies, tuna, a goody bag of dried fruits and an energy bar for each of us.  The next morning, Ricki and I opened our little sandwitch factory and made sandwitches for everyone in our room. There was way too much stuff, most of it, I am ashamed to say, still in my unpacked backpack (what? I was tired.)

We hired a bus for the second day. It was supposed to meet up with us at various points on the trip to carry our food supplies and water for the day, and anyone who got too tired to continue. The bus driver seemed extremely annoyed that he had to wake up early on a Saturday, it was the start of a not so wonderful relationship.

We started day two climbing and swearing. There was a bit of an argument as to whether to take the short steep climb followed by another short steep climb or to take the easier yet longer paved route.  Steep climbs won the debate so we climbed and swore and ran out of breath and swore some more but it was only the beginning so we decided to keep the swearing to a minimum. We entered the Yatir Forst, which from our homework we learned, is the largest forst in Israel, and we rode and we rode, mostly on an incline. We had a rest stop at the forest and called the bus to meet us at a certain point, and after a long argument the bus driver relented and drove the 500 meters to where we were. Another strike for Mr.Busdriver.  We continued to Har (Mt.)  Amasa where we were going to ride through the Roman Steps.  I was looking forward to acting my revenge on the steps as during my last visit there several months ago, while still riding my hard-tail, my back muscles froze on me after about a kilometer causing me to fall off the bike and not being able to get back on it.  Armed with rear suspension and 130mm on the front, I was ready for the challenge.

As soon as I left the bus and we started climbing to the Roman Steps, I remembered a real hard technical climb and asked myself why I didn't board the bus. Before I knew it the climb was over and the steps started, only I didn't even realize I was there yet, because apparently with full suspension, the world looks and feels different.  Before I knew it, I was at the end of the Roman Road.  I did almost flip over once but all in all managed to do it quite easily.  Celebrating my personal triumph, all of a sudden I was filled with renewed energy (though that was possibly the result of eating a banana).

We continued through the new Arab settlement of Dahania, where we collected some kids of rageddy bikes. They managed to keep up with us for a few kilometers, quite a feat actually considering their gear.  Our last meeting with the bus was at Tel Arad where we had our packed lunches and got ready for the last leg of the trip.  At this point we were pretty much done with climbing for the day, it was supposed to be smooth sailing to the Dead Sea.

We circled Arad from the south riding a well packed gravel road. About 10 kilometers from our destination, less than a likometer from the intersection with the road, Ze'evik crashed. Luckily nothing serious, mostly scrapes and bruises, we were very lucky.  It was obvious though that he wouldn't be able to continue.  As we were close to the road connected Arad and the Dead Sea, we called the bus driver to come pick him up from the road and take him to the first aid station in Arad. The bus driver demanded NIS300 for his trouble. This of course cost him his generous tip...  Luckily there are more good people in this world than bad ones (or so I would like to believe) and we managed to wave down a jeep on the road which came to the rescue.  In a small world moment, it turned out to be Ran's girlfriend's sister and her husband.  They took Ze'evik to Arad and we continued on our way to Ma'ale Yair.  Ma'ale Yair is a dirt path leading down from the Judean Dessert to the Dead Sea. The descent is approximately 500m.  This route has been totally ruined by the jeeps in their attempt to climb up, making the path very technical and dangerous for cyclist.  I was there with the group less than a month ago and it terrified me, which meant I only rode the very comfy parts.  This time though, maybe more confindent in my technical abilities, I did most of it on my bike. From the bottom of Maale Yair, it was a short road ride to the hotels of the Dead Sea where the bus was waiting for us to take us back to our cars waiting for us at the missile range...

This was definitly one of the best cycling experiences I've had.  The route, the planning and the organization were awesome. The views of our tiny country are everchanging and amazing and every time I ride with them, I appreciate my riding buddies more,especially those of us who are of the fiminine persuasion. We rock!

When we arrived back at Zikim it was pouring rain, earlier on Saturday, the Kassams were falling out of the sky not more than a kilometer from where our cars were parked. We lucked out on two counts.

C2C

One of the good things about elections day was that it broke my week in two and guess what? It's already Thursday and the weekend is here.  Tomorrow I am going on a weekend adventure, riding from Kibbutz Zikim on the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea. Approximately 140 kilometers in two days. I hope I can make it, I'm not in as good a shape as I'd like to be.

Last night I bakes lemon squares for the gang (Ran informed me that I shouldn't bother to show up without them) and this evening I will make some sandwitches and pack up the rest of my stuff. Hopefully I will be able to get some sleep. I lose an hour as it is since we switch our clocks back tonight.

I have homework to do for this ride. Apparently I have to give a few explanations about some of the points of interest we pass at on the way. I am now grateful for all the school trips which took me to Yad Mordechai and for having grown up near Netiv Ha'Asara as a child and spending vacations there when I got older.  I am also grateful for Google and Wikipedia for filling out the gaps in my knowledge...

Mountain of Zealots

I was feeling tired and weak ever since last Friday's ride and I told myself that this weekend I would not be riding.  Until I got a call from Ran the Apothecary called me Thursday and invited me once again to join him on what he described then as an easy ride.  Since I am a masochits I jumped at the opportunity.

Gershon picked me up at 6:30 am and we drove down to Mesada where our ride was to begin.  It was raining the entire way there, and as we reached the southern town of Arad, we were beginning to worry that we would not be able to ride.  A little bit of water has never killed anyone, but the temperature outside was a near freezing (hey, this is the desert in Israel) 5 degrees celcius.  By the time we reached Mesada it stopped raining, though getting out of the car and assembling our bikes was harder than getting out of a warm bed on a cold morning.  Eventually we had no choice, we got out, set up the bikes and tried to warm up.  We got our warmup when we started climbing up from the bottom of Mesada, on the road toward Arad.  GPS said four kilometers, which turned out to be 5.5 kilometers, but at that point, there wasn't too much of a differnce... Luckily (or not so much) Gershon had a problem with the breaks, which allowed the rest of us to get some air and eat some yummy Halva cake. 

After a short break we finally hit some dirt.  We rode to a beautiful outlook above the Tze'elim River, which actually had water in it.  From there we started following a fun single track which led us to a short but very steep climb to Har Kanaim (Mountain of  Zealots), we were all very jealous to see that only one of us was capable of riding up the mountain, the rest of us pushed our bikes to the top.  The view from the top was breathtakingly spectacular, as desert views often are.  After a short break we continued on a fun not too technical single track that  brought us down to the road and  The Nokdim Village (which is actually a big beduin tent and a couple of camels), where we did not stop for a drink or a tea break, because no cup of tea or trip to the washroom is worth 20 NIS.

After regrouping again we had a short climb on the road until we found the "Unknown" single that would take us back to Mesada.  Calling it a single is a bit much, as it was barely marked and the entire length of it was very rocky.  Though my bike can pass through pretty much anything, my head still can't, so I was extremely cautious, and being extremely cautious, while preventing injuries also make one more tired, and the riding less fluid.  Luckily I was with a great bunch of people who in addition to being excellent riders are also excellent people, which meant they were patient and helpful all the way.  Once we were done with that part of the ride we went down part of a route called the Red Camel, which is one of the routes from Arad to Mesada, finally reaching the Jeep Road, at the end of which we were hoping to find our vehicles safe and sound.  The Jeep Road was probably the hardest part of the ride for me, I was already tired and my back started aching. I changed to my lowest gears and slowly braved it until I reached the point where it met the road again.   Less than a minute later we were already by the cars and thinking of the meal we were about to eat at Muza, practically the only restaurant in Arad.

I am now sore again, but I know I am not allowed to complain seeing I knew very well that I should have stayed home and rested another week.  On the other hand I had such a nice time, that I don't mind being a little sore.   I also know that when Ran calls me again on Wednesday or Thursday, I will probably jump at the opportunity once again...

Today, however, I am resting again and being extremely unproductive...

Here We Go Again

I'm really excited, I got an email yesterday from the Organizing Committee of the Alyn Ride, announcing the the new dates and planned route for this year's ride. This year the Ride will take place between October 29th and November 2nd, will begin in Jerusalem and will end in Eilat (which means I am totally spending the weekend in Eilat after it's over).

There's still quite a bit of time until things actually start, but this time I hope to be better prepared, both physically (though I really didn't do too badly last year) and as far as fundraising is concerned. I would really like to be able to double my sponsorships this year.

I've also expressed my desire to be on the committee or help in the organization is some other capacity (I need to know first what exactly the level of commitment is, I don't want to commit to something I am not going to be able to follow up with.)

It's funny that this week, as the next ride is announced, Groopy's new magazine is published and in it is my account of the ride (sort of an abridged, Hebrew version of the account here in the blog.) Another thing I am going to try this year is to take more photos (or at least have more photos of me taken) and to do a little more writing as I go along, just so I don't have to rely too much on my lousy memory.

I had a great ride of Friday. Went down to the Sodom Plain, Sodom mountain(s), the Pratzim Dry Riverbed and the Flour Cave. The route wasn't too challenging, though it seemed harder than usual for me (I've been experiencing that lately, more later). I was with a great bunch of people, and truly, no matter where one rides, the people one rides with are what makes all the difference. Despite and broken hand and a broken bike we all found a way to make it all about having fun and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  It was definitely one of the more enjoyable experiences I've had since I started riding.

Saturday I was supposed to go on another ride with another group of people. I woke up Saturday morning feeling paralyzed, I could barely move my legs or get myself out of bed. Had shooting pains throughout my body. Called my riding partner to tell him that I was staying home. I figured if I was already home I'd do some housework, but five minutes of activity completely wiped me out, so I spent most of the day resting and sleeping.

I've been feeling weaker than usual for about three weeks now. I started feeling three or four weeks ago; getting to work on my bike (a mere 3K in each direction) became harder, my ears would start pounding and my vision would get blurry at times and when I went on the two day ride three weeks ago, I felt that my body wasn't carrying me as it usually does. I figured I was just a bit tired, I rested the next weekend, but still the same feeling and getting worse. This last ride I found myself at the back of the group struggling through climbs I usually zip through. Anyway, I believe my body is telling me to slow down and check things out. I'll go to the doctor this evening and hopefully before he dismisses me, he'll send me for a blood test. My friend Amir suggested an stress enzyme test (like I know what that means). I'm going to try to watch my nutrition a little better because I admit that I due to laziness I mostly eat junk, and I don't think I've been feeding my body properly after a workout. I also think I need to start taking suppluments. Anyway, I'll see what the Gross Doctor has to say and then proceed accordingly.

Today is my one and only and favorite sister's 31st birthday. Happy birthday Rappy! You aren't getting older, you are getting better!