Day 1 – Tel Aviv to Ashkelon (48 miles)
On day one, we set off from Tel Aviv bound for the seaside city of Ashkelon. It was Yom Haatzmaut (Israel Independence Day) so the city was very quite as the shofar was sounded to start the ride. We cycled through the city passing the home of David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, and Kikar Rabin, the site were Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995, after attending a peace rally in support of the Oslo Accords. From there we passed the site where Tel Aviv was founded in 1909, which sits only yards away from the building where Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948.
Our course then took us to the sea side just north of Jaffa for our first rest stop – even though we had biked a relatively short distance. We continued along the coast for a while before heading in-land. The temperature change could be felt, but it was nothing compared to what was to come. We arrived later in the day in Ashkelon, biking past hundreds, if not thousands, of Israelis having bar-b-ques in every park or strip of grass in celebration of Independence Day.
In the evening we were able to rest our weary bodies with the view of the sun setting over the Mediterranean Sea.
Day 2 – Ashkelon to Mashabei Sade (72 miles)
After a great breakfast at the Ashkelon Holiday Inn – yes, I used great breakfast referring to a Holiday Inn – we set off for day two. Unlike day one, there was no stop and go start to get our legs warmed up and we were off on the open road right away. We pulled into a rest stop at a reservoir, which provided a view of Gaza in the near distance. In fact we were about equal distance (or so I was told) from the Israeli town of Sderot, the target of many of the rockets, and the Gaza border. Standing at such a location it was once again overwhelming evident how small of a country and area is at the center of the Israel-Palestinian problems.
Before going on with the ride itself, I want to make a mention about how great the support and crew of this ride is. I think most of you know that I rode in two AIDS rides while I was living in DC and thought those were well run, but they have nothing compared to what this crew does. Not only do they ride with us, both in cars and on bikes, but every 10 to 15 miles there is a rest stop or pit stop where we can re-fill water bottles, grab a few dates or power bars, and sit in the shade for a few minutes - and if there isn't natural shade, which is becoming more and more rare, they erect something to provide it. There is also sunblock at about every turn, which we've all been lathering on constantly. Without these volunteers there is no way any of us could survive even half a day of riding. Thank you is not nearly sufficient enough.
We left the rest stop and headed toward the northern Negev. The route climbed slightly, but more noticeable was the gradual - and later dramatic - change of climate from the fertile fields of the western Negev, fed by the moisture of the Mediterranean (as well as the treated waste water of the surrounding communities), to the dry desert of the northern Negev. As dry as we were finding the air we were biking through, it was just a harbinger of the next day, and from what we are expecting in the final two days.
In the evening we stayed at Kibbutz Mashabei Sade. There was something nice about putting my head back down on a kibbutz, even one so dramatically different than Beit Nir, where I plan to spend a couple of days after the ride. The meal was just as I would have expected from a kibbutz, a couple of meat dishes and salads, salads, salads. Most importantly was it was tasty and filling.
Day Three - Mashabei Sade - Mitzpe Ramon (45 miles plus 10 off-road)
The alarm went off again at 5:30 a.m. -- not my preferred time wake up normally -- and we were back on the road to the sound of the shofar. This morning, however, there was no large breakfast options to send us on the way but rather a snack with the breakfast down the road at our first rest stop at Sde Boker, 16 miles away. The terrain really began to change and we started hitting the first real uphills.
We rode into Sde Boker to find a breakfast spread set out by our crew worthy of any hotel we've been to yet. Sde Boker is the kibbutz where David Ben Gurion resigned as Prime Minister to live and at which both he and his wife were eventually buried.
An interesting thing about his grave is that there are three dates on it: his birthday, the date of his death, and the date he made aliyah. The view from his grave site is truly spectacular, looking out over the vast expanse of the Negev, some of which were were about to mountain bike through to visit the oasis of Ein Akev.
Now I've been on a mountain bike a few times and even road them off-road a bit, but this was the best mountain biking I've ever done. Maybe not nearly the most technical or challenging course/route out there but it was certainly the most difficult I've ever been on before. There were some steep declines, loads of jagged rocks as well as fine gravel and sand (which I found was the most difficult things to ride through), and always the the heat of the desert.
But it was worth it for the amazing oasis formed by the spring at Ein Akev. Based on the reactions of those who did go into the frigid water, I chose to keep out of the pool.
After the mountain biking excursion, we had a nice lunch back near the Ben Gurion grave site before switching back to our road bikes for the 25, or so, more miles to Mitzpe Ramon. 25 miles isn't too far, except when those are spread across three fairly nice climbs - with corresponding downhills I will add. The day ended with the biggest surprise of them all, the steepest, but thankfully shortest, climb to the hotel itself. It came at me out of no where on the final turn, but it marked the end.
We spent Shabbat at Mitzpe Ramon, which sits on the edge of the Maktesh Ramon. While often and incorrectly referred to as a crater or canyon, the Maktesh is a unique geologic occurrence which offers some positively spectacular views. Unfortunately its grandeur simply can not be captured in a photograph, but here is a little taste of what it is like....
And all around the Maktesh, and even in the town, are Ibexes. These ancestors of the modern day domesticated goats are a protected species in Israel and have returned from the brink of extinction in the decades since the passage of laws prohibiting their hunting for any reason.
Tomorrow we ride down and through the Maktesh so I will cut this update off a little short to ensure I get sufficient rest for the day. I know I keep saying it, but this is a wonderful experience and I can't thank everyone who made it possible - from my donors to the staff and crew of the ride itself - for me to do it. And while when I was getting ready to do the ride I kept talking about the need and desire for me to spend some time alone on the bike with my thoughts in the desert, I have now begun to realize that another - perhaps more important reason for the ride - was for me to have the opportunity to meet and make new friends, which has happened many times over.
Shavua tov.
I feel like SUCH a slacker reading this. Your ride sounds awesome. Did you ship your bike over with you, or are you on a loaner?
ReplyDeleteKeep the pictures and the commentary coming. It's fascinating reading everything you're doing.