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I have cycled for 5 days in Israel in aid of Norwood, riding down the Jordan Valley, along the Dead Sea, down through the Arava Desert and finishing up in one piece in time for Shabbat in Eilat!

 

Day 1    Well as our plane was delayed 3 hours, got to Tel Aviv at 11.30pm & upto Hagoshrim just passed Quiriat Shamona at 3am bed at 3.15 & up at 6.30 to build bike & start ride at 7.30. Good day riding, weather perfect one 5k climb to top of Golan Heights then pretty flat. Great downhill after the climb only problem was I thought I was being hit by flying stones off the road till I looked down & saw a huge wasp digging a sting into my left leg - a tad painful!

 

Nice brisk cycle to Beit Shaan after lunch & now staying about 5k from Beit Shaan in very nice Kibbutz. 

 

Had the standard evening bikers tipple and now off to bed looking forward to tomorrow 155k or 95 miles in English all the way down to Massada.

 

Day 2    Had another great day riding. Weather was perfect and cycling was great especially as today was mostly downhill.

 

Left this morning at 7am, which was a bit nippy to say the least but after about one hour the sun was up and several layers of clothing managed to come off. Got to the West Bank border about 10am and cycled through the Jordan Valley for the next 3 hours stopping for coffee in a great cafe just past Yafit. Had an Army escort through a small village & lunch was at Qumram and the rest of afternoon was cycling alongside of the dead sea. Spectacular scenery and one serious climb, which was only about 4.5k but very steep. Best part was as we left there the guide told us he once reached 51mph on his bike, so some of us went for it and I reached fastest speed I've been on a solo bike - 47.1mph, that was quite good fun - don't tell Karen or my Mum! 

 

Tomorrow should be interesting as we have to climb from the lowest place on earth and have a 12 mile climb to start with. Rest of day boasts 5 "categorised" climbs, which means they're quite difficult! We finish up just north of Mitzpeh Ramon after 120k.

 

 

Day 3    Another tough day's riding. Started off as sun was rising and finished off as it was setting - but more that later. 

A lot of climbing today just over 5000 feet in total but spectacular scenery to match. Not much peleton riding as too many hills to tackle. One was almost impossible and whilst riding up thought I'd take a break but trying to get your feet back into your cleats is no mean feet on a 20% incline & duly toppled over right in front of our guide which almost earned me the task of wearing the pink girlie ribbons for tomorrows ride - only awarded to those that perform tasks attributed to 7 year girls - luckily someone else did something more stupid!

The tandems joined us today with 2 Norwood residents which was great. Because of the distance & terrain they were excused this morning so I took one of the organisers on the 2nd leg of this morning's ride. This afternoon after lunch I  accompanied one of the tandems back to our kibbutz - hence the reason I came in just after sunset! It is incredibly hard work for the front rider but so rewarding at same time. 

Anyway another 150k tomorrow riding through the Ramon Crater and down through the Arava desert. 

 

Day 4    Probably one of the hardest days cycling today that I've done in a long time! After leaving the kibbutz at just after 7am we were climbing for about 53k until we got to Mitzpeh Ramon. Then after a short break we went down into the crater, I agreed to take one of the Norwood residents through on the back of a tandem which meant I had a fantastic decent and didn't start pedalling for about 20 minutes. 35k and 2 hours later we had reached the other side at which point I got back on my road bike and hurtled down to lunch. Two huge decents meant I could have a go at my solo bike speed record but didn't break it as only got to 45mph! Interesting moment as 6 goats decided to cross the road as I was coming down the first hill at about 39mph, managed to miss them & keep the bike under control & got to the break to find I was about 20 minutes behind everyone, so as I had had about 4 energy bars & 2 or 3 energy gels I was raring to go and with 40k to go until lunch - about 25 miles - I powered on and covered the next 35k in dead on one hour, which for me is quite amazing especially as there was a decent climb in the middle. Caught up with someone who had a blowout, helped him with that & we cycled the last 5k together.

 

After lunch was interesting, only about 25k to finish the day and it was quite flat until about 8k from the end when 2 rather steep inclines gave way to a fantastic 8k - 5 mile decent all the way into our kibbutz last night. Not only was today a great cycling day but also some of the landscapes and views were something to behold. 

Nearly there and easier day tomorrow as we cycle into Eilat with all the riders from the other Norwood ride & the tandems teams & 2 other disabled riders that are now with us.

  

Final Day – Yahoo    Nice easy day today as we had 51k to Eilat. 

   

Lovely to get a lie in until 7am and off at 8am and then all 62 of us (26 on the North to South ride and 36 on the Askelon to Eilat ride) all taking a nice easy pace. First stop the Yodfata Diary Farm Cafe - only 9k down the road and as we had barely warmed up it was time for a coffee and huge ice cream - not something you see in many cycling magazines but it was very nice anyhow!  

  

Next stop Timna Park where it was time for group photos - that was interesting with 63 Jewish photographers all experts on where to stand, what direction, when to smile and which camera to use!  

  

We then had approx 30k until our next stop and as it was all downhill gave some us a chance to cycle a decent pace alongside or with the tandems - 22mph all the way for the next hour, quite enjoyable. As we came over the top of the last incline - the Eilat hotels came into view and we knew we were almost there. On reaching the Eilat border crossing, our police escort was waiting, They had decided that because of road works on the main road out of Eilat and the courtesy of the Israeli drivers it might be better that they lead us along the road as we formed a rolling road block. That was great and as we reached the outskirts of Eilat we pulled in to get stopped to make sure all balloons were on the bikes, everyone was in the right order (tandems at the front, mortals behind), it was only then that someone noticed that amount of traffic that had built up behind us - bet they were really pleased! All set and ready we headed off on the last stretch of our journey and at exactly 12.30 we rolled into the King Solomon Hotel (well the forecourt anyway) to be greeted by cheers and tears as everyone realised what they had achieved! 

 

For me cycling in Israel is always special and this challenge is one I have wanted to do for some time. I'm not sure what the highlight of the week was as every day was different but I think seeing our residents working so hard and getting so much enjoyment from the week and helping one of them cycle through the desert really is special. Some days when I really thought I had nothing left you just have to see how those people who are less able than me to realise they have so much more to cope with and I think that is what pushes me on.  

  

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my exploits as much as I have enjoyed doing them. If you ever want to challenge yourself and find true inspiration you should come on a ride - it’s never too late, the oldest rider this week was 81!  

  

Thanks for all your comments, I couldn't reply as wi-fi was varied at best but to answer one question that someone asked - riding at 47mph is more exhilarating than driving a Porsche at 120 mph and much less likely to get you a hefty fine. 

 

You might all be pleased to know I still have some Sudocream left - not for anyone to borrow of course!





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