Day 9: Arad to Neot Hakikar

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> I am sure you must all be on tenterhooks about my shoes, well I am not revealing whether they were dry or not this morning. Suffice it to say I now believe newspaper is more effective than toilet paper.
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> I have been joined by Eitan, a partner I've ridden many a kilometer with over the years, and hopefully he will continue with me to Eilat. Now I've dropped down to the Dead Sea, I actually feel the reality of my goal is nearer.
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> The ride today was all I expected for this classic experience to below sea level. We had some mighty downhills in the still arid Judean Desert landscape, passing Beduin farms and trying not to alarm grazing camels.
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> My only disappointment was that my navigational skills let me down (I could blame my GPS, but won't) and we missed the track that would have taken us down Ma'ale Azgad. We ended up on the Dimona road instead, and had the pleasure (sic) of waving to All The Lorries as we hurtled down to the Arava Junction. Still a valid riding experience.
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> The 15 degree difference in temperature between Arad and Arava ensured my shoes had finally dried out.
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> Ride Stats:
> Distance 62 kms
> Total 633 kms
> Duration 7 hours
> Agg climbs 682 metres
> Max Gradient 27% (not rideable)
> Total Height Loss 1000 metres
> Temp: 10C (Arad) 24C (Neot Hakikar)
> 0 punctures

Day 8: Meitar to Arad

Well, there had to be a day like this! A day when perhaps it would have been better to stay indoors, in the comfort of my friends' home, with a hot mug of coffee, watching the National Geographic channel. Instead I was up a mountain with my head in the clouds.

Against everybody's better judgement,including my own, I set out, alone, on the wettest and stormiest day of the year, to complete this stage and to maintain the continuity of the trek. If I'd known ahead that my route, in the prevailimg conditions, would generate the greatest figure for climbing to the highest elevation so far, I'd have definitely opted for the evening bus to Arad.

My first attempt to leave Meitar was A Disaster, I immediately got bogged down in the quick-sands surrounding the place. I managed to extricate myself to the local gas station, hose down the bike, and tried the roads instead. I was fortunate to locate the KKL scenic route ( marked blue on the maps) which was well surfaced, and took me up to the Yatir Forest. It had that vicious 22% gradient, at one point, but mercifully, it was on asphalt and I was able to maintain traction.In the sheeting rain,at the highest point, I was stopped by a soldier from the nearby camp, who quite understandably could not fathom the sudden appearance in the mists, of a helmeted, balaclava'd figure on a bicycle. I think I was more of a security risk to myself than to the Yatir Army Base!

By the way, how long should it take to dry out sodden shoes stuffing them with toilet paper ??

Ride Stats:Distance 65kms
Total Distance 571km
Duration 6.5 hours
Agg climbs 1254 metres (biggest so far)
Max Height 857 metres
Max Gradient 22% (I remember that one!)
Av temp 10C, lowest 6C, rain and hail.0 punctures
2 very wet shoes

Day 7: GalOn to Meitar

Another inspirational bicycle quotation sent to me by my daughter Miranda, this time by William Golding:

'Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things.'

Each day of this cycling trip is a metaphor for a journey through life. Starting, maintaining machine (and body) in working order, learning the way, staying upright and true over rough terrain, not deviating from the designated route, coping with the difficulties, and at the conclusion looking back with pride at the achievement, but always looking forward to the next day.(That's your dose of home-spun cycling philosopy for today !)

The night at Kibbutz GalOn near Bet Gubrin and we were joined in the morning by Yair and Yotam . So now we were a serious group, ready for anything the day could throw up at us, and this it certainly did in no small measure.

The wind had picked up again ; a very different beast to that I had experienced in the north. It was a hot , dry yellow wind, laden with dust ,constantly in one's face, coating the teeth and throat, and cutting down visibility.

Regardless, we pushed off on in a southerly direction following the Israel Trail passing the mulitude of caves, ruined villages, and other sites of antiquity in the Bet Gubrin area. The greenery of the north and Jerusalem areas, was now being diluted to a yellower hue, and the flowers still in hiding, not yet in bloom. There was ample evidence everywhere, of the dearth of rain affecting the area . We were passing through the transition of the Mediterranean landscape to the arid desert zone. The terain was hilly and undulating, we were notching up quite a repectable figure for climbs.

We had our break in the Amatzia Forest, near a dried out reservoir to the backdrop of serial booms ,thuds, and rat-ta-ta-tats, the unmistakeable signs we were in proximity to an army firing range. Yair had brought with him a kumkum (kettle), a little fire was lit, and we brewed up some coffee with cardamon, with its distinctive aroma. Such is the ambience of long distance riding in Israel.

Ride Stats:

Distance 65kms

Total 506kms (over half-way ?)

Duration 8 hours

Agg climbing 1045 metres

Max gradient 16 %

80% Off-road

Av Temp 25c (hot, dry, wind, and dust)

0 punctures

Day 6: Zova to GalOn

I was reunited on this stage with Ariye, my partner during the first three days, and Ami, a longtime riding buddy from the earliest days of our club.While I enjoy riding solo, and having the freedom and responsibility for my own decisions, determining your own pace, tempered with the constant inner debate of when to stop and start; I do recognise that having companions does have it's merits, especially on long rides.

The trail from Zova took us in and out of two major valleys (Sorek and Refaim), along some demanding single track involving carrying the bikes, and a near vertical push up from Mata. My partners provided the balance of a sensible pace with more breaks than I would have allowed myself riding solo. This made the experience more enjoyable and less of an energy sapping slog (rhymes with dog....)

Dogs ! Ariye has a mystical way with them. We were attacked out of the blue by a pair on the road near Tsur Haddasah. Whereas I have the dubious strategy of screaming obscenities at them (presuming they understand Old English) and try to accelerate away from the bared canines, Ariye stands his ground, stares them out, and they duly melt back into the foliage. Mind you, I forgot to mention in an earlier posting, that this skill does not extend to bovines when, in the Jordan Park, he was nearly trampelled by a charging jealous cow, after venturing too close to its calf.

When we eventually dropped down from the Jerusalem Hills, to Emek Ha'Elah, it was on a wonderful trail in Nahal Tsadsar which I suppose was a reward for all the effort in getting up there. That long descent with its twists and turns, ever changing vistas, and the technical challenge of the rock strewn path, was a joy, and intensified by the fact that it could be shared and remembered along with my companions.

Ride Stats:

Distance 61kms,

Total 441kms,

Duration 8.5 hrs,

Agg Climbs 936 metres,

Max Height 750 metres

Max Gradient 16%

Av temp 20C

0 punctures.

Day 5: Rehovot to Zova

As can be seen from the figures below, this was a big day for climbing. This is the stage the future IBT will ascend to Jerusalem,and for the cyclist, there is no escaping the inherent topography.

The old cycling mantra, 'No pain, no gain' neatly sums up the experience.I chose to start my attack on the holy city ( not the most significant in its long history) from Rechovot. This was an inspired suggestion by Yotam as it skipped all the muddy bits around Tel Aviv. There was also the convenient fact that an articulated commuter bus, going in this direction, stopped nearby. So after some delicate negotiations with the driver my bike was let on board and placed on the swivelling floor in the middle. It was fun to see my riderless bike turning corners!

Oh, that climb. ...

Well here I am in Zova to Blog you the story, and that's all that matters. The pain was the wear on the knees over two mountain ranges (Estahol and Har Hatayasim) and the gain was the view down to the coastal plain then the well earned indulgence of a hot bath in Zova !

Ride Stats: Distance 60kms
Total distance 380 kms
Agg climbs 1177 metres
Duration 7 hours,
Average gradient 5%, Max Gradient ( a whopping) 18%
Max height 730 metres
Av temp 14c
0 punctures.

Sent from my iPod

Day 4. Habonim to Tel Aviv

So the saga continues !

For this stage I was riding solo, my pre-arranged partner was unavailable (perhaps he he was put off by the bad weather forecast). Undeterred and confident, I set off from the Habonim area , the weather at this stage was sunny but with a very strong opposing wind that made riding a bit of a struggle.

As encouragement, I was sent this quote from Yvonne. It's by by Ernest Hemingway, and nothing could be truer:
"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle".

It was supposed to inspire me over the central plains of the country. I discovered that the plains of the Sharon Valley area aren't so flat but softly undulating, it is true that this is not noticeable in a car, but on a bike this becomes very noticeable. Especially if there is a strong wind in your face or the terrain is sandy or muddy, which often it was.

I mentally gloating about the great weather I was having and the rain I had left behind in the north. I could not, however, outpace the speed of a weather front which was relentlessly moving south. Eventually the rain-storm hit me near Tel Aviv on the Yarkon River Trail. In an instant the surfaces had turned into a sticky morass and I could not continue as my wheels had expanded to muddy discs that could not turn anymore. I escaped the wicked trail by lugging the bike under a motorway, and over a railway line (not recommended), and ended up in a high-rise building site near Petah Tikvah. From here I was rescued by Yotam (my daughter's fiance) and ferried to their appartment in Ramat Aviv.

There is no better feeling to be hosed down next to ones bike and see the mud trailing away down the drain !

RIDE STATS:
Distance 83 kms, Total Distance 320 Kms, Aggregate climbing 404 metres, Ride Duration 8 hours, Max climb gradient 4%, 80% off-road, 19c sunny at first turning to heavy rain, 0 punctures, 1 mud bath- all part of the fun !

Day 3. Kfar Tavor to Habonim

We said farewell to the luxurious cyclysts house in Kfar Tavor, and climbed into the Bet Keshet woods below Mount Tabor. Like yesterday, the area was awash with blooming flowers, and we pedalled full of the delights of spring. The fact that the route then took us through the municipal rubbish dump of Daburia, did not dampen our spirits. Anyone travelling the back-trails of Israel soon notices that the unregulated disposal of wastes is a major problem.

We are doing this trek unsupported, that means we take all our stuff and belongings on us or the bikes , are independent, and have no vehicular back-up. This, of course, adds to the challenge (and difficulties) of the project ! However, on this day we relaxed our regime, as we were relatively close to our homes and arranged for our back-packs to be picked up. We could now complete the latter half of the ride without the burden of 5kg on the back (in my partners case, at least twice that, as he insisted in carrying half a field-kitchen !) Many thanks to Dekel who greeted me at Mishmar Haemek with some sandwiches and a flask of coffee, such a welcome sight.

The day finished we some superb riding over Ramat Menashe, which will prove to the jewel in the Israel Bike Trail's route, if one closes ones eyes, to Highway 6, which now cuts cruelly through the area. I was met at the gas station near Habonim, by Amy and Yvonne, which was very much appreciated.

RIDE STATS:
Distance 80kms, Total Distance 237 kms, Duration 8 hours, Aggregate climbing 944 metres, Max Gradient 15%, Av Temp 22C, Off road 75%, 0 punctures.