The Hills Are Your Friends

A few days in Tel Aviv before traveling home

I've had a 2 1/2 relaxing days in Tel Aviv. Time to recover with more bicycling along the beach and to Yafo. These are the green Telobikes. A great way to get around the city.  Below are some views from the past 2 days.

I fly back to Altanta late tonight.

View from my hotel room. 

Unexpectedly meeting Jeff and Natelie. 

Yafo

End of the Ride- friends departing

It is now Tuesday evening and I have arrived in Tel Aviv, after taking a flight from Eilat. No, we didn't have to bike back here. 

I'm settled in my hotel, putting together some final thoughts and editing my videos. 

Below are some scenes from today.

At the Eilat airport waiting for our flight to Tel Aviv. 

Retracing our route from the air. 

View from my hotel

Bike Ride Day 5- Kibbutz Ketura to Eilat

After 50+ miles of riding I have safety arrived in Eilat. We traveled through rolling hills in the Negev along the Egyptian border, and then down a very steep 5-mile hill into Eilat. Below are some views from the day.  

Our decent into Eilat- Click on the link  below to see the video.

http://youtu.be/cLfkyX5bcjk

Day 4- From Mitzpe Ramon to Kibbutz Ketura

We left Mitzpe Ramon at 6:30 am and road down into the Machktesh- one of 3 great downhills. The weather was perfect with low heat and calm winds. After 62 miles we have arrived safely at Ketura. 

Before dinner we had a chance to meet with some of the current students at the Arava Institute. I was impressed how young adult Israelis, Jordanians, Palestinians, and Americans can create a dialog. These are the next generation of leaders.

We are now sitting down to a wonderful barbique dinner. 

Here are some photos from today. 

Shabbat at Mitzpe Ramon

I spent today recovering from 3 days of long bike riding.  This included walks to the Machktesh - an emense erosion crater. We will be riding down into the through the Machktesh on Sunday morning on our way to Kibbutz Ketura. 

Bike Ride- Day 3 - Yerucham to Mitzpe Ramon

Our bike ride continued this morning at 7:30.  We traveled from Yerucham, a development town in the Northern Negev, heading through Sde Boker (Ben Gurion's grave site)  and then south towards Mitzpe Ramon. The day included lots of head winds and uphill.  One particular climb was very steep and leveled out at Nafha prison.  All together we traveled 52 miles, climed over 4500 feet and decended 3394 feet.

We had a morning break at Golda Park- a wonderful nature preseve in the desert.  Lunch was at Sde Boker.

Below are some photos from today's experiences.

Golda Park

Some of the hills from today's ride.

David and Paula Ben Gurion's graves

The ibex roam freely at Sde Boker

A view from Sde Boker

Bike Ride- Day 2 - Be'er Sheva to Yerucham

We had a successfull ride today.

Our group left Be'er Sheva at 6:45 this morning and we climbed- in High Winds- over 2,600 Ft. to the Yatir Forest- a large semi-arid JNF forest just south of the West Bank.  We rode through 3 Bedouin villages along the way. It was worth the effort. We had a great view from the top of the hill in the forest. and then a wonderfull down hill and the wind behind our back for the next 15 - 20 miles.

We visited Tel Arad- one of the earliest cities in Israel.

Our final stop for the day is in Yerucham, a development down in the Northern Negev.

Tomorrow we leave for Mitzpe Ramon for a day off for Shabbat.

Below please find some photo from today's ride.

Bike Ride-Day 1- Jerusalem to Be'er Sheva

This day consisted of a nice downhill to start the ride.

I was 3/4 of the way down when I had a flat tire.  This was my first flat in 5 years of the ride.

It was expertly repaired by our mechanics, but it did put me behind the group.

It took until lunchtime to catch up with the Tzofim.

Here is a video from our first downhill:

http://youtu.be/5AQyiypGF_o

After lunch I took a side tour to Sderot and the JNF Indoor Playground.  This place was built for children to go to when their is an air raid.  Sderot is only 800 meters from Gaza.

This playground is fortified as bomb shelter, and provides safe place parents can leave their children when they go off to work.

Attached are some photos from the visit.

Bike Assembly Day

This moring we had a typical Israeli breakfast- enough choices to please anyone.

Here are some photos from the meal:

My bike is all put together and ready for the ride on Wed morning. 

I've attached some photos of my bike all accessorized. Including my solar charger and speaker for my tunes. 

Some other photos during the bike building activiies:

The Journey Begins

I'm on my plane from Atl to JFK. Should arrive by 8 pm if all goes well. You can never be certain when flying into the NY area.

I'll have a 3 hr layover and then on to Tel Aviv. 

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Made it to JFK. I board my plane to Israel in an hour.  Need to get my mind set for the long flight 😃. 

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I have arrived in Israel. An easy flight. Actually got about 4 hrs sleep. It is just after 6 pm on Sunday. 7 hours difference from Atlanta. 

I've attached some photos of this leg as we approached Israel.

A short video of our plane landing at Ben Gurion airpott