How many of you know that our website is actually run by someone in England? Yes it's true and this is the guy….Joe Shulman who was a regular rider with us from May 2007 until September 2008.
Joe made aliyah on the 2nd February 2004 from Canada. Until then, apart from having always owned a bike of some sort he never specifically went out to cycle for the sake of cycling until he met up with Cyclenix (His first ride with us was on the 5th May, 2007) and after that first ride he treated himself to a new "real" bike and cycling for cycling's sake became a regular activity in his weekly schedule. Not long after he started cycling with us he took over the running of our website and built it into what it is today, and, although he has left the shores of Israel, he continues to administer this site with much dedication and for this Cyclenix is truly fortunate.
On one of his visits to the UK he was introduced to Jessica through friends of his and decided to continue his relationship. Thanks to the power of electronic communication (the internet) they kept in regular contact and he made many visits to the UK and came to the happy conclusion that Jessica was the one for him. So, his gain and Jessica's gain was Cyclenix's loss , because to be with her he had to move to the UK, which he did on the 15th September 2008.
What about Joe's cycling nowadays??? First of all, he had to wait for his shipment to arrive and only went on his first ride in the UK on the 3rd January this year. In his words…"due to the unfamiliar climate, I didn't do much riding in the winter, some but not a lot." He hasn't yet joined a cycling group but he's working on it and with Spring here and Summer just around the corner and the sun (is there sun in the UK???) out until 8pm he's now doing a lot more riding in the area of Pattingham, near Wolverhampton where he lives. It's ideal country for cycling. It's in the countryside and there are lots of narrow paths and roads. As yet Joe hasn't discovered all the off road tracks, but give him a chance….he'll do it.
Thank you Joe for all the hard work you put into our site and we look forward to seeing you and riding with you often in the future.
NEXT RIDES
NIGHT RIDE - THURSDAY, 2nd July
Night ride
Please note the new starting point!!!!
We will meet on the corner of Rehov Yerushalaim and Ahuza at 7:30pm.
Helmets and proper lighting on the bike are COMPULSORY! Don't forget to bring a little cash as there is typically a stop for refreshments after the ride.
NEXT RIDE - 4th July - Local Ride - Memorial Ride for Ronnie z"l
We will have a Local Ride starting at 6:25am at out usual meeting point - The car park opposite Yad L'Banim, Reh. Ahuza. Ra'anana.
Summer is here. Use sunscreen and take pleanty to drink.
(Please note these rides may change so check back often)
Check back here regularly in case there are changes or other details.
FOR ALL RIDES - HELMETS COMPULSORY
by Law Always ensure that you bring 2-3 litres of water, energy snacks for the breaks, a spare tube, and that your bike is cleaned, oiled and in perfect working order
John Masefield wrote: "I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky". And so we did.
A magnificent 11 set off from Burgata - regulars and new faces as well. Welcome to the brave northerners, Menachem and Beverly, and also to Orna.
We made our way along Nahal Alexander down to the sea and the sky. And there were some sailboats going by too. The sea wasn't too lonely as quite a number of cyclists were enjoying the view and two of our group had a quick dip to cool off.
On the way back, we stopped for some turtle spotting. Nahal Alexander has a rich ecosystem and is one of the very few coastal plane rivers that flows all year round. By the time we got back to our cars, we had covered 36 km. Luckily, the heat remained at bay as there were clouds hovering most of the ride. We finished an enjoyable ride at Zingers, a charming restaurant in Burgata.
An Impromptu Ride Participants: Eight 7.00 am starters (reduced to six at Mandarin). Route: At Gabi's suggestion decided to ride down to the Marina and off-set the heat with some cool of the sea. At the Marina decided to continue south to Mandarin - at Mandarin decided we might as well go on to Tel Aviv - at the Old Port decided to ride along the Yarkon - at the Ramat Gan stadium, decided to take a refreshment stop at Ramat Hahayil - thereafter decided we needed to ride back home!! (via Ramat HaSharon and Herzliya) - total distance 43 kms.
Conditions: Hot but hardly noticed. The small group enabled riding at a brisk pace thus generating "self-induced air-conditioning".
Bottom Line: Good route - good company - good exercise - good way to spend a few hours in the saddle.
There was no path that we traversed today that we had not ridden on other occasions - The Ra'anana Industrial area, the fields and orchards of Bazra and Bnei Tzion, the Udim Nature Reserve, the Yaqum Nature reserve....we even stopped at our old haunt Cafe Buono, only to find that there was no room to accommodate the 13 Cyclenix riders, so on we rode to Gofferman's at Rishpon. What was different on this ride was the order in which we put the different parts of the route together. So whilst the whole route was one we had ridden before, putting the various sections in a different order gave the impression of a "new" route.
During the ride two incidents occurred. Merrill took a bad tumble falling off and rolling down into a ditch resulting in some nasty grazes and a bruise or two (fortunately nothing too serious) but she did manage to carry on after being expertly patched up by our "resident 'Jack of all trades' David. Shortly thereafter, Shaul had a flat tyre and, yes, you guessed it...David to the rescue again while we all looked on and Hylton went for a walk....The photos show it all!
So, another 30 kms under our belt and another enjoyable outing with Cyclenix.
Summer's here...
13 of us set off at a little after 7 from Yad Lebanim. Welcome back to familiar faces we haven't seen in a while.
We set off on a well-known route towards the sea and the cool breeze. By the time we got to enjoy the azure sea and white sails of the tiny boats, the sun was already fierce. The sand didn't help and a few of us wilted a bit in the heat.
We ventured on through the reserve and passed through a sleepy kibbutz Ga'ash. We then passed by Cafe Buono, where the boys (of course) admired some vintage cars. The Harley boys were obviously still in bed, as there were none to be seen.
We soldiered on, and by the time we got to our popular watering hole (Spingo), our numbers had dropped to 10. After hydrating and consuming a few calories, we had only a short ride home. The trip was around 30km, but seemed so much longer because of the sand and the heat.
There was no official ride on the 23rd May due to the annual "Wheels of Hope" Ride. Many of our riders participated but I am not sure how many. If you want to see photos of the ride go to:- http://www.shvoong.co.il/he-IL/145/670/
Ride Report - May 16th 2009 - by John
Sorry everyone! No photos today as both John and David were not there with their trusty cameras. Only 9 riders were there! What's happening! The route was one we have travelled many times - +/- 30kms. Nothing out of the ordinary and a breakfast stop at SPINGO.
Please remember that this coming weel is the "Wheels of Hope" ride. Let's have a good Cyclenix turnout.
I'd like to think that the low turnout today was because people forgot that we were starting 30 minutes earlier! Remember, Summer is here and to beat the heat we need to start at 7am and not 7.30am.
Gabi volunteered to take us to new pastures today and we had a great ride"discovering a new route on the Northern side of Weitzman Street. It was a wee bit sandy and there were a few slight uphills, but nothing that even a beginner could not handle. The weather was perfect, no wind, not humid and certainly not too hot.
Having traversed the "new" section we ended up at the top of the hill leading down to the new cemetery to the West of Kfar Nachman and from there, we travelled towards Rishpon turning North just before the gate that exits the Western fields of Ra'anana. The rest of the route was along paths that we had often ridden and we ended up at our favourite "watering hole, SPINGO!
Our thirst and hunger satisfied it was back to home base. And so another 34 kms was under our belt. A nice ride, good company and good food, not to mention a lot of good exercise. See you next week at 7am!
הרכיבה בשבת 2.05.08 , באיזור לכיש - בית גוברין.
משתתפים 12 רוכבים
מזג אויר נוח,
רכיבה בדרגת קושי בינוני +++.
רוב המסלול הוא בדרכי עפר נוחות ,חלק עם שיפועים קלים עד בינוניים+.
המרחק כ 35-40 ק"מ.
כארבע -חמש שעות רכיבה.
מפגש : מושב לכיש
שעת תחילת רכיבה : 08:00
במסלול : יציאה מלכיש דרומה על שביל ישראל דרך השדות לשמורת הטבע גבעת גד, טיפוס מעלה לקבר השייח,תצפית על הסביבה,ירדה חזרה והמשך לבאר שבשבת,יער אמציה,
סכר אדוריים, מערות חזן ,אתר מערות מסתור מימי בית ראשון, רכיבה לצומת אמציה,דרך הפטרולים של 1967 ,ציר צביקה,חורבת בית לוייה,פסיפס(מוזאיקה)יפיפיה,פגשנו אטובוס מלא תיירים מורמונים,שטחי אש של בא"פ(בסיס אימונים פיקודי)לכיש,שביל ישראל ,לתל לכיש, וחזרה למכוניות.
Short and sweet! First of all welcome back to a few riders whom we haven't seen for sometime.... Martin, Jean, Alison and Avraham. Get back into the habit. It was good to have you back with us. Today's ride had its fair share of sand!!!Ugh! We set off from our usual meeting point travelling through the industrial area of Ra'anana and onto Batzra but instead of heading for Bnei Tzion from there we tuned East towards Sde Warburg. I haven't travelled thin that part for some time and just could not believe the development that's taken place at Sde Warburg. Anyway, on we went through the fields with the intention of heading for Tira! It was only an intention though because we somehow got side tracked and ended up in the Tel Mond area from where we headed back to our favourite "watering hole" Spingo! After satisfying hunger and thirst it was homeward bound back to Ra'anana. Another pleasant 30+ kms under our belts.
Bound East
A baker's dozen collected at our meeting point in the crisp, morning sunshine. In the 13th century, Baker's sold 13 loaves of bread to avoid being punished for "selling short". Bread was sold by weight and not number. Punishment could be losing a hand, being flogged, or some other cruel measure. In Kabbalah, the number 13 is regarded as being something good - so with that lucky omen, we set off towards Hod HaSharon via Givat Chen. We would like to welcome back Freddy, and hope to see him regularly!
This section of the ride was a pleasure, as the recent rains had compacted the earth. We headed towards Ramot HaSharon and then turned down to the Yarkon to follow the river all he way to Tel Aviv. The river was bubbling in parts and it was great to see the number of cyclists out enjoying the route.
This part of the ride was technically difficult with a lot of ditches (which claimed one or two of us), branches swatting us and the speed junkies barreling from the opposite direction. As Moni said, no time for dozing....
We hit the Yarkon park where we had a short break to take in the rowing contest. After that, we set off on a cycle path that goes past Reading, Tel Baruch towards the Herzelia Marina. The day was glorious, with the sea sparkling and the white sailboats drifting by. At the marina we turned inland and whizzed through Herzelia Pituach and Gan Rashel to make a beeline to Arcaffe to replenish ourselves after the 45 km we had covered.
Fourteen cyclists met at the regular meeting place for the weekly ride. The general consensus was first to tackle the garbage hill and then head in the direction of Tel Mond, so that’s what we did. Riding east out of the parking lot, we crossed Weitzman Street, entered the fields, and reached the hill in no time. Some of the riders made it the whole way up without pausing or walking. Others, including yours truly, dragged their bikes up. It was worth the schlep though, as the view from the top was stunning.
Leaving the hill, Avi led us through Bnei Tzion and along a beautiful country lane lined by trees and horse paddocks. We oohed and ahhed, first over the foals and then over two fluffy puppies that peered at us from behind a fence. As Ingrid put it, the whole scene looked like it had come from a travel guide of Great Britain. Unfortunately, that’s where Great Britain ended and Saudi Arabia started, as we hit sand. We trudged along until we reached the road that leads to Spingos (Route 5511), and there we discovered four damsels in distress, stranded after the gear on one of their bikes had snapped. Luckily the handymen in our group managed to shorten the chain so that the owner could at least ride to Spingos for a more permanent repair.
We then passed the (lunatics in the) ultralight aircraft soaring above us, crossed under Route 4 at the Batzra exit, and headed north. Again we hit sand, this time all the way to Tel Mond. At some point Ted stopped and started yelling “Keep to the left!”, and to my horror there on the right were two huge bee hives. We passed them without casualties, rode into Tel Mond, and waited gratefully in a shady street opposite strawberry fields while Ted fixed his puncture.
From Tel Mond, we returned again along the eastern side of Route 4, with the more sand and more bees (who seemed to think that John was a flower). We crossed back through the Batzra tunnel and onto Spingos, no longer able to resist the temptation. From Spingos it was home.
It was a 32+ km ride, not easy but very enjoyable. The weather was perfect and the technical prowess of some of our group was impressive.
Ride Report - April 4th 2009 - Bitronot Ruhama by Ted
The way down on route 6 was a hint of what lay ahead. Great weather and amazing vistas that the rolling hills of the Negev can deliver in Spring. We reached Ruhama after a brief stop at some improvised “toilets” in Zomet Kama which could have been reason to regret coming so far for so much “S---“ and then after almost coming to grief with the Cops for driving in the wrong direction. Oded set off without too much pomp and led us on a trail of ups and downs or what seemed to be more up than down. Poor Ingride rightly returned to the car as she was not yet over her recent flu and we wish her a speedy biking recovery. The rest of us did not feel too much better as it is decidedly disastrous to start a ride with hills but we rolled on regardless and soon warmed up, spellbound by the Impressionistic paintings that lined the route. Carpets of Van Gough and Renoir flowers and trees and fields in a multitude of colours rose out of the ground in huge patches. Yellows, reds, purple and mauves were the predominant shades as the cool breeze caressed us under the azure sky above with green distant hills framing the ideal picture. And incredibly, there were more flowers then stars (I counted as I rode). The weather warmed up and some of us reminisced about our last ride to the area a couple of years back as we attacked the colourful magnificent undulating hills. In awe at the blaze of colours, we braked often to shoot the amazing scenery, an absolute must. We stopped to graze by the “billabong” and soon set off across the mini wetlands as some of us got our tootsies wet (cool our heels?). Jules had a slight fall with apparently more serious consequences and we wish him well and hope he rides with us often. A cornucopia of colours continued to overwhelm us with as we expressed “aahs’ and “oohs” etc., and who could blame us. It was simply brilliant and a perfect day for the perfect ride. Oded called it a volume and not technical ride which it was and we thank him and Gabi for making it possible. And yes, David did find Ingride eventually.
Today was the ride of the "Magnificient Seven",
Two boys and five girls, for the boys it was heaven.
The sun was shining although it was cold,
Regardless of this, the seven were bold.
A special "welcome" extended to Dalia,
Who was joined by Barbara, Frances and Talia.
Dina, Ted and John were there too,
And out they rode under a sky of blue.
Conditions were good, ideal for a ride,
An abundance of flowers were seen on each side.
Yellow and white and mauve and green
Filled our view of this beautiful scene.
The route was quite a regular one,
A few weeks ago it was what was done.
At the view point overlooking the sea,
Some of our girls stopped to have a quick wee.
Cafe Buono was the stop we had,
But the smoke and noise was just too bad.
Spingo, I think, remains at the top,
So next time we're out, that's where we will stop!
Nevertheless, it was a good ride,
The 30 plus k's filled us with pride.
We all returned home in a very good mood,
After a ride with good company and jolly good food.
Just a short sweet and to the point write up about today's ride.... Weather: Except for the wind, excellent! Refreshment Stop: Spingo, Bnei Tzion. As usual first class friendly service and good food. Company: Only 8 riders, but wonderful company and that's what makes our rides so
enjoyable. We were happy to have Geva riding with us again. Comments: Listen Boys and Girls, don't let the weather put you off!!! Two of our regular riders
were not with us today because of injuries!!! (Not caused by cycling!!!) Motti was
injured in a "kitchen accident" and underwent surgery and Udi sustained a broken leg
in an accident while riding his motor scooter. We wish them both a speedy recovery.
Yossi and Geva, two new riders joined us today for the ride against the wind. David’s route, planned to thwart natures ferocious weapon, almost succeeded but who can ultimately beat nature! Read on for the details. But first, let’s examine what were the criteria that made our two latest riders come away knowing that they are “Cyclenixable”!!
They had a ready smile
They enjoy bike riding
They go where their leader takes them
They don’t complain (even when the mud sets in)
They don’t give up (even when it’s hot and the hills seem never-ending)
They are willing to get up at ridiculous hours to ride.
They enjoy the company of fellow riders.
They love the outdoors
They care for their bike.
They like to explore new routes
They (if you can add more items, let John have the details) look forward to Ted's reports.
Going by the list, we can now define a “Cyclenixt” so if you were one of the twelve who rode with us this morning, you now have official recognition and a claim to fame for having those splendid traits noted above. And who really cares about the route details? They are the smallest part of the ride but it just so happens that David’s route was ideal and we ranged to the east, north, west and south and not necessarily in that order. We even saw the see (See-saw, get it?), mud and sand and sighed with relief that the heat was not as bad as expected. Gofferman was the watering hole and enough said on that point. Lastly, we all admired Hylton’s experimental saddle and hope that it is as good as they claim as more of us may need to make use of it.
WOW! Another "first" for our group! A trance party in the middle of the ride!!!! Read on....
What a great ride it was. Perfect weather, great route with a few new sections for some of the riders and very pleasant company. Ten of us met at the usual meeting place and off we went towards the Industrial Area of Ra'anana, north through the orchards of Bazra and then onto Bnei Tzion making our way towards the Tel Aviv - Haifa railway line. As we entered the Bnei Tzion area we heard it! The music from a Trance party somewhere to the west of us! At the suggestion of some of the riders we decided to find the source of the music......we followed the sound down through Bnei Tzion towards the airstrip used by those daredevil airmen who take to the skies in their motorised flying contraptions that are held aloft by a parachute!!!Rather them than me! We tried going South towards the forest where I now knew that the party was taking place ( I have passed there on previous occasions and seen these parties in progress at the same spot) but our path was blocked by a stream of water that didn't look clean enough to cross. So, back we went to the level crossing between Bnei Tzion and Shefayim. We travelled South along the western side of the railway line eventually hitting the sand road that took us to the "party".
What an eye opener! (See the photos) There were literally hundreds of young people who had been going strong since the previous night dancing to the beat of the music. As for the cars, I couldn't believe my eyes. For at least a kilometre along the sand (lots of mud!) road there were cars parked on both sides of the road and travellig towards us were more cars, including two police vehicles, one of which was bogged down in the mud! I have no idea how many calories were burnt up at that party, but it must have been an astronomical number!!!
Having observed the party we pushed on Northwards and then made our way back to the railway line where we turned North along a dirt road (with mud patches here and there) towards Yaqum. Here we crossed the bridge and travelled back South towards Gofferman's at Rishpon for our breakfast stop. Having satisfied our thirst and hunger it was then...."Ra'anana, here we come" and with another 30+ kilometres under our belt another great ride had come to an end.
Oh, I haven't forgotten.....welcome back to Avraham after a long absence and welcome to Jossie as well. We hope to see you more often on our future rides.
The Re'im or Be'eri Cyclenix rides are a must in our cycling winter calendar.
In life we sometimes do silly things, but do try to limit and control the stupid events we initiate.
Getting up at 05.30 to leave the house to fetch Shaul is silly – would rather stay in bed!!!!
Driving in convoy 100 kilometers in very foggy conditions at 10C is silly
Driving through Grad/Qassam territory is stupid especially as the previous day (Friday) two rockets landed where we are driving and riding. Heard firing/blasts during our ride. Rockets landed the next day in this area.
Twenty-one riders including 4 women (yeah) started out. Ariel knew the route well, leading us through trees, and wheat fields. This ride is technically difficult as over half of the 22 kilometers is single track – up and down like a roller-coaster – such fun (see the photos). A few short, steep inclines requiring us to walk and push the bike, followed with long down-hills.
The sad part of the ride is seeing the result of the drought in Israel this winter. The un-irrigated wheat is only about 20 centimeters high, while in previous rides the wheat was thigh height. The fields are thin and parched. A further disappointment was the lack of yellow flowers and no red carpet of poppies, so famous in this area. The Besor River does not flow, when on previous occasions I rode across the weir in knee-height water (see previous photos)
We had a very pleasant pit-stop on our way home at the Yad Mordechai junction.
Judging by the traffic and number of visitors to this area, obviously Israelis are not over concerned about the lack of a cease-fire.
This ride was professionally led by Ariel, who showed us an example how to lead a cycling tour. He cared about each rider, warned us of dangers, stopped to keep us in-sight of each other. Posted riders at junctions so no-one would get lost. Ariel, we appreciate it.
Bicycle Unit of the Civil Guard (Mishmar Ezrahi), The Department of Community Affairs and the Civil Guard of the
Israeli Police Force in conjunction with the Israel Cyclists' Association call
on you to join the Cycling Unit of the Civil Guard.
Volunteer Now .
Follow the link for more details.
THE BOTTOM LINE ! : ALL RIDERS PARTICIPATING IN THE CLUB'S ACTIVITIES MUST ACCEPT THAT THE CLUB
CONSISTS OF A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS, FOND OF RIDING IN EACH OTHERS COMPANY, ON
THE BASIS OF UNDERSTANDING THAT NO ONE TAKES OR BEARS ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR
OTHERS AND EACH IS FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS OWN LIFE, HEALTH AND BELONGINGS.
©
