Ride Report - 21st June 2008 - Ben Shemen - By David
A year and a week after our last visit we were again back in Ben Shemen, again under the leadership of Herzl Ushah, again "brokered" by Craig (who unfortunately wasn't able to join us this year) and again (as Craig so aptly put it in last year's ride report) "a tremendously enjoyable and educational experience" for all 20 participants. I would be surprised if anyone knows the labyrinth of pathways that criss-cross Ben Shemen better than Herzl - proof of which being that except for a pilgrimage up to Tal Hadid (which is a must on any Ben Shemen ride) our route this year did not retrace anything we did last year. However there was one significantly familiar element - the delicious and refreshing water melon which Herzl again so generously produced for general consumption!!!
For the last several away rides over the past months (starting with our Burma Road ride) Dennis' expertise and GPS technology have combined to provide an accurate plotting of our route, which makes it superfluous to repeat in this report. Instead a colour printout marking the route with red dots (the closer together the slower we rode, the further apart the faster....) is included among the pictures of the ride. Thanks Dennis for this great facility.
However what our venture into hi-tech does not record, but which we must shamefacedly admit to, were no less than 5 "thorn induced" punctures en route. While sealants have greatly reduced the incidence of punctures we should not overlook the need for regular topping up, especially in the hot dry season when every dried up form of spiky vegetation is out there waiting in ambush for our poor defenceless tyres.
And on the subject of "hot" and "dry", despite riding in middle 30s temperatures and some "less than easy" climbing, none of us seemed to be any the worse for wear, attributable in part to the overall state of fitness of the group, but I believe, in great measure to Herzl's "ride management". We made a number of stops (to catch our breath, to soak up the beauty of our surroundings and to benefit from Herzl's extensive knowledge - and not forgetting the "puncture stops"!!), and we moved at a "sensible" pace, all of which adding up to a great ride in a great area, without human or mechanical breakdown (apart from aforementioned unmentionables!!) and a loud 20 strong chorus "Thank You Herzl".
Ride Report - 21st June 2008 - Local Ride - By John
Ten of us met at our usual place and hit the road shortly after 7am. Our route took us to the industrial area of Ra'anana, through Batzra and then on to Bnei Tzion. However, for a change, instead of riding up the long climb to the swimming pool in Bnei Tzion We skirted The Moshav on the Southern side ad then rode to the lookout point at one of the entrances to the Bnei Tzion Nature reserve.
From there we mde our way North, crossed the Tel Aviv - Haifa railway line making our way to Yaqum. On the track approaching Yaqum from the East we encountered an unexpected "hurdle"! Mud, yes mud!!!!! Mud in the middle of Summer.....not a common happening in Israel! Black, thick gluey horrible mud!!!And it wasn't long before most of our bikes "went on strike" and refused to budge. Fortunately the stretch of mud was not too long.......maybe 200 metres but getting through those 200 metres was really hard work. The wheels would jam because of the mud that had collected between the frame and the tyres; we'd remove the mud and progress another few metres and the repeat the process of clearing the mud; some carried their bike for a short while; others just continues to clean and push, clean and push, and also complain! Eventually after what seemed an eternity we made it through the mud patch and, hooray, we found a hose the gave forth a strong jet of water, and were able to clean our bikes well enough to enable us to ride on.
We crossed the bridge at Cafe Buono and continued on to and along the track skirting the Northern side of the Gaash Golf course, on to and through the Kibbutz itself and then East to the Northern Entrance on the Hof Hasharon Nature Reserve. (Where was David to help us get our bikes through the fence? He was in the Ben Shemen area fixing punctures!!!) Now the weather was heating up and we needed that morning refreshment stop at Arsuf! We travelled through Kibbutz Shefayim in order to miss the sandy stretch parallel to the sea and headed for one of our favourite "watering holes", Arsuf. Alas! it's closed down.........boo hoo! So, on to Gofferman's to save the day and then home! Thirty kilometres of pleasant riding (except for the mud patch) and pleasant company.
Ride Report - 14th June 2008 -By Daniel
Having not ridden regularly for the last couple of months the 6.25am ring of the alarm clock was accompanied by a minute of indecision - to ride or not to ride ?
Fortunately good sense prevailed and at 7.00am I reported for cycling duty together with the rest of the group – regulars and 2 or 3 new faces .Again good reason prevailed and we headed out west hoping that closer to the coast it would be cooler . Only later during the ride I realized the main reason for heading west – we all remember the live show during last summer at the Park Hasharon look out overlooking the beach down below- well you should have seen the look of disappointment on the faces of all the dirty old men and some women when there was nothing else but the amazing expanse of clear blue sea below the high cliffs. Any way boys better luck next time.
Back to more routine – we rode past the airport to Rishpon , over the bridge towards Park Hasharon , through the Gaash shopping complex to the bridge at Yakum. On the way Tzvika felt unwell and we managed to convince him to head back home accompanied by another rider – I hope he is well. We turned south at Yakum heading straight to one of our regular watering holes at Goffermans.
The ride was marked by the constant giggling of Ingrid at John’s chili joke – for those who missed it ask Ingrid to repeat it next week – she loves repeating it.
But most important again - the ride and the company all make it worth while waking up at 6.25 am and I heard that from July we will be starting at 6.30am meaning a 5.55am wake up .
See you all this Saurday again.
Ride Report - 7th June. 2008 -By שאול
לאחר הפסקת רכיבה אופניים של מספר שבועות ,שמחתי להתיצב מחדש במגרש הקבוע.. הופיוע מעל עשרים רוכבים, ועל אף העדרות של מספר ותיקים מספר הרוכבים המשתתפים עולה. Cyclenix הולכת ומקבלת תנופה!
המסלול שנבחר עבר דרך בצרה, בני ציון דרך פרדסים. עברנו שדות ללא תקלות.
בהגיענו לפולוג, גרמתי לפילוג כי הבעתי את רצוני להפסיק בנקודה זו ולחזור הביתה. לשמחתי הצתרפו אלי טד דיאנה ,דניאל, זאב.עשינו הפסקת קפה ב'bueno וחזרנו בדרך מקבילה לכביש החוף. רכבנו כ30 קמ דבר שלא עשיתי זמן רב
ברצוני להודות לכל החברים הדואגים לשלומי ,ומעודדים אותי וגורמים לי שמחה בלב
אין כמוכם.
Check out these sites 
Israel Police cyclist rules of the road:
http://www.police.gov.il/english/Traffic/Road_Safety/04_en_tr_bicycle.asp
Beginner's Mountain Bike Info Guide:
http://www.romp.org/rides/beginnerguide.html
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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