11/2/17: Meeting more friends and first day of the ride
Posted 11/2/17
Meeting More Friends And First Day Of The Ride
Some of you may remember Ros Roucher and Phil Nadel who lived in Milwaukee over 10 years ago. Ros and Phil now live in K’far Saba close to Tel Aviv. We had an opportunity to see Ros in Jerusalem on Monday morning at a coffee shop and she sends warm regards to those that she and Phil know in Milwaukee.
On Tuesday, we made our way to Ramat Rachel hotel on Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. There, Chanan helped me to get my rental bike ready for the big ride! We had a traditional felafel and middle eastern lunch all together, and during the evening at the ride briefing, we were reminded to ride safely and that this is a “RIDE” – not a race, so we need to have fun and do what we can. It is a very supportive ride with (of course) LOTSSS of food, snacks and water. We are riding in 3 different groups that take different routes each day according to levels of elevation (yes that means how steep the hills are) and total miles.
We had an amazing first day of riding from Ramat Rachel to Ashkelon traveling west across the country. We began with a large breakfast and the send off of over 180 riders. Riders range from 13 to 76 years of age. The weather has been gorgeous with the sun shining the whole time.
The descent out of Jerusalem was breathtaking and we encountered a number of significant hills along the way. We ended our biking day in the Ethiopian agricultural village in Kiryat Gat where we learned all about traditional Ethiopian life, and shared in a delicious Ethiopian meal. We arrived in Ashkelon in time to see a beautiful sunset over the Mediterranean Sea.
Stay tuned for more adventures!
David and Debra
