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SPECIAL
RIDER
PROFILE
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Participants: 10 - no new faces but a bright and shiny new steed for Frederik (many happy riding hours ahead) and raising to 4 the "fleet" of Specializeds in the pack.
Route: The ride was in 2 segments plus a "micrologue" (a one-liner epilogue equivalent!).
The first: from the starting point eastwards, then south up the hill to Oranit, and from there, after a bit of compass boxing (and sparring!) west, then north and back down along the eastern side of the Kibbutz.
The second: east again then north up the hill to Nirit and to the lookout (Mitzpah Hezi). Then down again along the singletrack (some ride-able some not, some more so for the brave, and less so for the cautious but sadly without a video capture of John's slow-motion summersault!), then back to the cars.
The "micrologue": a further 2 km section (half of it single-track), discovered next to where the cars were parked, to compensate for a short ride.
Bottom Line: Upside - great riding area, beautiful countryside, challenging up-hills; perfect weather; great company
Downside - not nearly long enough (a mere 14 kilometres in all) for which I take full responsibility. Problem was I didn't realise how fast we'd all scale the up-hills and summersault down the downhills........!
I don't remember much about the ride other than the two punctures that we had within a few minutes of each other and the amount of pumping we had to "perform" as both were punctures were unusual in their nature. We did overcome these obstacles with some professional guidance from about half the group kibitzing and interestingly, some of those were riders who had been absent for a good few rides so what could they contribute? Amongst those AWOL's were Daniel, Yossi, Geva and others to whom I apologise for not remembering by name. Oh, and yes, we had ome NEW rider with us, Brad who hails from New York and is here studing medicine. Welcome and we hope to see you often during your stay here in Israel. Yossi also rode his new frame with old bits and it is some bike! Amazing weather made the ride so easy and it's true that we did have to divert a couple of time to avoid mud but David was there to lead the flock to our ultimate destination at Spingo. The route via the sea and the lookout point was marred by some patches of sand but what else can you expect. It is the Middle east! To carry on from the previous report, this was the Clean Two Dozen as we were 24 riders who had a wonderful and relatively clean ride.
Twelve set off in the cold morning air with a threatening sky. Welcome back to Shlomo - we hope to see more of you!
We went through Gan Rashel and Kfar Shmaryahu (seeing how the other half live) stopping for a short break at one of our favourite spots - overlooking the sea. By this time the sky was blue and the sea sparkled in the bright sunlight. The weather was great for us cyclists, but the parched earth needs those big, fat raindrops.
We then went on through Shefayim to Cafe Buono, where the 12 became 10. We enjoyed a snack amongst the chrome and steel of vintage Cadillac's, a Plymouth, a Jaguar Sports car and even a bright red MG. Needless to say, the boys ogled the toys (even the engine of the MG). Even I appreciated the beauty of the cars (and the engine) - usually I can only identify cars by their colour....
Despite Friday's rain, there were still sandy patches, but all was forgiven when we came upon some well-laden avocado trees. The true character of the riders emerged - yes, it seems we have quite a few long-fingered members. Curious lumps were seen about the clothing of some of us - they will not be named and shamed, but we know who you are!! Ted disappeared for a while, having taken an alternate route, but met up with us again. So, no losses this week.
We had a very enjoyable 30 km ride in ideal conditions.
By the time we left Elishema, we were rarin’ to go after an unplanned delayed departure of half an hour. The bikes took to the trail like horses at the bit as we churned up the dusty clay surface along the Kanah stream which to our surprise is under development works (without us being informed or consulted!). We improvised and soon reached the reedy track lining the banks of the almost stagnant Yarkon. We had the company of three new riders one Alex, one Fredrik and one lovely Y(J?)asmin. I leave it to you to work out the gender from their names but nowadays even Ted can be female. The shady and fragrance-full eucalyptus trees interspersed with reedy cane gives this rides that special quality but we soon reached the sunny stretch behind the Baptist village after having forded the stony Yarkon without mishap as even our newcomers managed the crossing with ease. Barbara dipped her legs in the Yarkon-source waters and then rode determinedly up the little rise as did Dina showing true grit. Izik in his old age forgets that bikes have gears but even in third he took the rise with no effort. We eventually reached Einat for breakfast where I noted that we had an equal number of men and women riders which is encouraging. The ride back was more chaotic as we lost some of the group and at one stage there were three bunches making their way back to Rome as all roads do indeed reach Elishema. If any one of you is still missing, just call! The weather was mild to hot but compared to humid August quite a treat. Despite the disarrayed return it was a satisfying 32-36 km ride depending in which group you rode back. Nice Garmin GPS shot of the route from David in the gallery.
18 enthusiasts gathered at our starting point, including two new cyclists: Beora and Steve. Welcome! We hope to see more of you. Our youngest participant, Lorial (15) brought the average age down and is evidence that there is a long and happy future!
We set off on a familiar path - through Rishpon, Ga'ash, the Sharon National park (with marvellous sea views), past Cafe Buono, through Udim and on to our watering hole, Spingo. It was after Cafe Buono that the Cyclenix magic carpet ride became a bit unravelled - we split into two groups (after dropping a couple of people along the way). The heat encouraged a small group to head back on a shorter route. A good thing too, as bicycle trouble hit them and being closer to Spingo helped. The second group soldiered on, experiences a touch of the Sahara (more like Sahorror) - very sandy bits that felled almost everyone. We unravelled even more with each one trying to get ahead to beat the heat. We kind of limped in, one by one to Spingo, where we enjoyed our usual repast.
We covered 34 km in the heat, which is no small feat.
Now that conditions have improved – a later starting time and cooler weather (or so they claim) – seventeen people met for this morning’s ride. A warm welcome to Thelma who did amazingly well for her first ride, and a welcome back to Tzvi and Sharon after a long break.
The ride started with Gabi and David leading the way along Weizman street, turning right off the road and past the cemetery. We headed north through parched fields and along sand-filled lanes (where some of us unintentionally came off of our bikes), until we reached kibbutz Yakum. We circled the kibbutz from east to west, and then rode along a mountain path overlooking a beautiful gorge. Apparently this scene is at the edge of the Yakum Park, the rest of which we will hopefully visit in the not-too-distant future (hint, hint).
It was at kibbutz Yakum that we encountered a runaway horse – luckily with its owner at its tail (literally) – as well as a chameleon that stubbornly refused to adapt itself to John’s shirt. (According to Ted, it took one look at John and turned green.) There was also an extremely steep slope tackled only by the daring, and various members of the group coming off their bikes unintentionally.
The group continued onto moshav Udim, again circling the moshav before starting on its way back. As far as I know, this part of the journey was uneventful, but perhaps I was simply too far behind to notice the action. We stopped at Spingo for refreshments and perky conversation, and from Spingo it was home.
To summarize, it was a fun 35 kilometers in challenging terrain and with good company. Wishing you all "Shana Tova" and "Gmar Hatima Tova", and may the coming year bring you countless enjoyable Cyclenix rides!
There isn't much to report on from today's ride except that it was nice to have Geva back riding with us!
The route was a well worn route, the highlight of which was our stop at the lookout point in the Sharon Coast Nature reserve overlooking the Mediterranean. It's raelly a great view. We made our usual breakfast stop at Spingo and then headed for home having completed 37 kilometres of pleasant, scenic riding in very pleasant company.
Special Ride Report - Sept 3, 2009 - Nahal Prazim - Dead Sea Night Ride By Gabi Raanan
Last Thursday night at approximately 10 pm , 7 Cyclenix members braved the distance, the 30-degree heat, the late hour and the king-sized mosquitos and showed up for the Nahal Prazim ride near the southern part of the Dead Sea.
It was quite a surprise for me to arrive at night to a parking lot located in the middle of nowhere, behind the end of the world, and find maybe a hundred cars, all with bike carriers. The place looked like a major train station, with biker groups leaving every few minutes uphill towards the West.
After a short introduction by Alon Rahavi from Spingoteam, a large group of some 30 riders - including the 7 of us - set off for a 25 km trail that made for easy riding, and a great night experience. After a couple of Kms of open country, we entered Nahal Prazim, winding its way southwards in a gentle (really) uphill slope. The ride was slow due to the large number of riders. We met many smaller groups, some taking advantage of the moonlight and riding with their lights off. At some points it felt crowded like a walk on Dizengoff. The spectacle of the long snake of lights slowly winding its way along the steep canyon was awesome.
After some 10 kms we stopped for makeshift coffee near the "Flour Cave" - Mearat Hakemach. It got its name from the white chalk powder covering its floor and walls. At this point the Nahal is very narrow and surrounded on both sides by vertical walls - I almost expected to see a line of Indian Nation warriors on horseback, with feathers in their hair and arrows strung in their bows, show up on the top of the rocks. It is definitely an eerie place, particularly in moonlight. However, the sound of water boiling in the pot and the smell of fresh coffee in the air brought me back to reality.
From there we rode swiftly a few kms eastwards on an easy trail across Mishor Amiaz, and then came the real fun part: downhill on the long, wildly winding serpentine of Nahal Sdom. It's a few kms long and being all downhill there was no need to turn the pedals at all - pure delight. Miraculouosly, nobobody took any significant fall, and we did not have even one puncture along the entire trip.
Back at the car park, the good souls of Spingo opened a table and topped it with good nurishing food, which was hungrily consumed by the tired riders. We sincerely appreciate Spingo's expert organization of the event, including the surefooted leading by Doron Ziv and the sweep Alon who made sure noone got lost.
Don't go away now, because it's not over yet.
At around 3:30 am, when most riders finished packing up and left for home, 6 of us travelled to one of the beaches of the Dead Sea. There, in the dark, we took a long dip in the dense warm,salty and oily-feeling waters. Very conveniently, a warm-water shower awaited us on the beach, and from there we started our sleep driving homewards. After various incidents related to sleeplessness, we somehow managed to get home safely, except for Ingride's telephone which till this day probably decorates one of the coffee tables in the Alonit on Kvish 6.
All in all, it was a remarkable experience, that took me only a day and a half to sleep off, but was worth every minute of riding and every mile of driving spent on it.
A smaller that usual crown met at the Reading parking lot in Tel Aviv on a love windless, sunny and clear day. It was great to have Baruch, Harriet and Gila with us. We need to see you more often! Ah, and Barbara was there with her new bike! We wish you well to use it and may you have many hours of happy and safe riding on it.
Baruch was appointed "leader" of the group and he and Harriet set off on their trusty tandem with the rest of us in pursuit. We headed for the Tel Aviv Port and then mafe our way along the Tel Aviv promenade towards Jaffe acrrying on all along the coast to Bat Yam. We passed through Jaffe and used the newly constructed path to Bat Yam to reach the beach. Hundreds thronged the beach and sea was full of bathers taking advantage of the ideal weather. We the headed back towards Tel Aviv passing through the Old City od Jaffe and stopping to enjoy the view of Tel Aviv. From there we cycled through Neve Tzedek and on to Tel Aviv's Rothschild Street, Rabin Square, Dizengof Street and back to our cars. Oh yes, off course we made a refreshment stop...A ride without a "breakfast" stop is not a complete ride!
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.
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