Wednesday, November 10, 2004
The Israel Ride - The Second day
Early on Monday morning we rode out of Nitzana.
We started the day with davening followed by breakfast. Even though I typically don't like to eat much before doing anything athletic, it was crucial to eat a good breakfast on the morning of a ride. My breakfast consisted of coffee, juice, a roll and some eggs. I salted the eggs a lot because all the sweating that was to follow would deplete my body of salt. (And, ironically, although drinking a lot of water might prevent dehydration, it also flushed out the electrolytes and other good stuff and could cause you to boink. The ride did not provide energy drinks or powders and that would become a problem for numerous riders).
I don't remember much about the morning other than that it was largely flat with a few moderate climbs and very boring, the most boring part of the ride. Finally, after the first rest stop, it began to get more interesting. We climbed another very nasty hill to get to a summit that would bring us down into the Machtesh Gadol (the Large Crater). The view from the summit was awesome.
The descent into the Machtesh was extremely long (at least two miles) and steep. At this point we ran into a group of riders from the UK who were also doing a bike ride in the south of Israel. Unfortunately for them, they were going up the hill that we were going down. And, suprisingly, about 75% of them were walking their bikes up the hill! Losers. (I know that sounds harsh. Indeed, when I first saw them, I thought, wow, this must really be hard if most of them can't make it up. After Wednesday when I climbed Mitzukei Dragot, and especially after Thursday, when even the lamest of us climbed to Jerusalem, I realized they were just losers).
At the bottom of the descent, we were in the crater itself. There, we finally met up with the off road riders who had been riding in the bowels of the crater for a good part of the morning. We road together, on road, for another mile or so where lunch was served.
Once again lunch was excellent. The problem, again, was that we had to wait almost two hours for the stragglers to come in before the organizers would let us move on. It was probably close to 100 degrees and the shade provided by a meakeshift tent did not offer much relief. I felt myself baking.
We finally left the lunch area and had a moderate climb to get out of the crater. The rest of the day's ride was fun and uuneventful.
Our destination for the night would be the Mamshit Bedouin Tent.
Again, the fact that I was a strong rider worked to my benefit. I was able to get a spot in the very front of the tent where I would be able to get in and out quickly (I can get very claustraphobic). I was also able to get a shower before the long lines appeared (there were about ten showers for about 300 people).
That evening there was a makeshift 'bar' provided by a few of the veteran riders. While I am normally not adverse to a pop of scotch from time to time, things were going too well with my body and I didn't want to muck anything up, so I abstained. Then we were subjected to some mumbo jumbo by the Israeli proprietor of this faux-Bedouin-tent-tourist-trap about how the Bedouins were our brothers, yada, yada, yada. (Is that why the ride mechanics literally put a chain and lock through all 235 bicycles so that our 'brothers' wouldn't steal our bikes and why we were told to keep our valuables on us at all times (including while we slept)??).
The 'authentic' (kosher) Bedouin meal that followed bordered on the inedible. Since, (a) I was really hungry after another 65 miles of riding, and (b) it was really important to have a good meal the night before a difficult ride, I was none too pleased.
In any event, it was a very magnificent, star-filled evening and I slept soundly despite the best efforts of the many snorers surrounding me.
The organizers of the ride said that sleeping in a Bedouin tent is a once in a lifetime experience. Now that I have had that experience once in my life, I hope never to experience it again.
We started the day with davening followed by breakfast. Even though I typically don't like to eat much before doing anything athletic, it was crucial to eat a good breakfast on the morning of a ride. My breakfast consisted of coffee, juice, a roll and some eggs. I salted the eggs a lot because all the sweating that was to follow would deplete my body of salt. (And, ironically, although drinking a lot of water might prevent dehydration, it also flushed out the electrolytes and other good stuff and could cause you to boink. The ride did not provide energy drinks or powders and that would become a problem for numerous riders).
I don't remember much about the morning other than that it was largely flat with a few moderate climbs and very boring, the most boring part of the ride. Finally, after the first rest stop, it began to get more interesting. We climbed another very nasty hill to get to a summit that would bring us down into the Machtesh Gadol (the Large Crater). The view from the summit was awesome.
The descent into the Machtesh was extremely long (at least two miles) and steep. At this point we ran into a group of riders from the UK who were also doing a bike ride in the south of Israel. Unfortunately for them, they were going up the hill that we were going down. And, suprisingly, about 75% of them were walking their bikes up the hill! Losers. (I know that sounds harsh. Indeed, when I first saw them, I thought, wow, this must really be hard if most of them can't make it up. After Wednesday when I climbed Mitzukei Dragot, and especially after Thursday, when even the lamest of us climbed to Jerusalem, I realized they were just losers).
At the bottom of the descent, we were in the crater itself. There, we finally met up with the off road riders who had been riding in the bowels of the crater for a good part of the morning. We road together, on road, for another mile or so where lunch was served.
Once again lunch was excellent. The problem, again, was that we had to wait almost two hours for the stragglers to come in before the organizers would let us move on. It was probably close to 100 degrees and the shade provided by a meakeshift tent did not offer much relief. I felt myself baking.
We finally left the lunch area and had a moderate climb to get out of the crater. The rest of the day's ride was fun and uuneventful.
Our destination for the night would be the Mamshit Bedouin Tent.
Again, the fact that I was a strong rider worked to my benefit. I was able to get a spot in the very front of the tent where I would be able to get in and out quickly (I can get very claustraphobic). I was also able to get a shower before the long lines appeared (there were about ten showers for about 300 people).
That evening there was a makeshift 'bar' provided by a few of the veteran riders. While I am normally not adverse to a pop of scotch from time to time, things were going too well with my body and I didn't want to muck anything up, so I abstained. Then we were subjected to some mumbo jumbo by the Israeli proprietor of this faux-Bedouin-tent-tourist-trap about how the Bedouins were our brothers, yada, yada, yada. (Is that why the ride mechanics literally put a chain and lock through all 235 bicycles so that our 'brothers' wouldn't steal our bikes and why we were told to keep our valuables on us at all times (including while we slept)??).
The 'authentic' (kosher) Bedouin meal that followed bordered on the inedible. Since, (a) I was really hungry after another 65 miles of riding, and (b) it was really important to have a good meal the night before a difficult ride, I was none too pleased.
In any event, it was a very magnificent, star-filled evening and I slept soundly despite the best efforts of the many snorers surrounding me.
The organizers of the ride said that sleeping in a Bedouin tent is a once in a lifetime experience. Now that I have had that experience once in my life, I hope never to experience it again.
