Last day in Tel Aviv

It was another wonderful time in Israel and here we are in Tel Aviv for the last leg of our journey.

I had reserved a Mazda  5 minivan on line mid-week and so yesterday morning, Nimi and I cycled not far from our apartment to pick up the vehicle at the Avis rental location in Talpiot. We completed our packing and cleanup at the apartment, loaded the car and with Nimi's excellent navigating, drove to our hotel in Tel Aviv.   I pat myself on my back for thinking of disassembling our bikes at the apartment because at our hotel, we retrieved our bike boxes we had left there for the 2 weeks and then just packed the boxes with our bikes and clothes right in the car garage and left everything locked up in the car. All we needed were essentials for the next day.

A leisurely stroll on the boardwalk, some downtime in the hotel and then dinner with a brewsky at "London's" on the beach and we called it a night.  Today, we will spend some time on the waterfront and plan on a 7pm departure for the airport and a midnight flight out.

Second last day at clinic and in Jerusalem

It is getting warmer again - have to take advantage of the great weather as I know we won't see clear blue skies much longer.

Did lots of work at the clinic today and went out to dinner and a "bruskey"  (beer) afterwards with some friends.

The picture here shows an unusual  dental stool that I have been using all week - great for me because it looks like and almost feels like a bike saddle only wider.  Quite comfortable actually but I'm not sure if will be good in hilly terrain.  It comes from Finland and apparently is quite popular there - are they cyclists there?

Tomorrow evening we will pack our gear and get ready to return to Tel Aviv for one more day at the beach before flying out.home.

Last week in Israel

Time seems to be accelerating quickly now - just a few more days of work and then back to Tel Aviv to prepare to return home. The weather has been consistently good with clear skies, warm days and cool nights.  Work at the clinic is going well - I have become friends with a super group of guys this week - one new member, Harold from Birmingham, Alabana is a good dentist, caring and considerate to his patients and fun to work with along with Dean from BC and Sid from Scarborough TO. We have been cranking out lots of dentistry on so many kids.

After work, Nimi and I either walk our feet off for hours on end all over Jerusalem or kick back at the apartment  and enjoy our down time. I made arrangments to rent a Mazda 5 hopefully big enough for our luggage and bikes for our trip back to Tel Aviv on Friday and then the airport on Saturday.

We will eat at "home tonight but join friends tomorrow night for dinner.

Day off from work in Jerusalem

Today we will start the morning with a bike ride to Yad Kennedy and then meet my sister Karen and brother-in-law Howie while they are on their tour in Jerusalem.

Add caption

Last night, we met with a Beit Halochem mission group (non-riders) that are touring Israel and went with them to the Beit Halochem facility in Jerusalem for dinner and a tour of this rehab centre.  We renewed acquaintance with Erez, our enthusiastic riding leader and some of the disabled veterans that rode with us last week. Again, a very emotional and moving evening seeing where the veterans do their rehab programs from art classes, basketball, swimming, and even dance classes, and then hearing a few veterans tell of their experiences from being injured and disabled to being rehabilitated.  Many of the people on this mission trip were from Canada and have been coming for years to support the Beit Halochem program.  It was a privilege to be among them for the evening.

Work at the DVI clinic is going well.  I have been seeing many children -  Ethiopian, Arab and religious Jewish kids, all with the same problems....more cavities and holes in their teeth than you can imagine. I am now off until Sunday.  The weather here continues to be on the very warm side so cycling has not been a good idea, but we continue to do a lot of walking.

In Jerusalem now

We finished our riding last Thurday on a very hot day - the entire group riding together.  I rode with Naomi this day and helped her up some of the long climbers.  We were all glad that the ride was not longer than 80 km.  In total, I had gone some 500 km with over 8000 metres of vertical in climbing.

We celebrated the end of our ride at Beit Halochem  in Jerusalem with a tour of this amazing facility and a wonderful outdoor dinner afterwards.  More about the facility later - I am writing this at the DVI clinic minutes before I start work.

We have a very nice spacious apartment in Jerusalem with a real kitchen that we can actually cook in.  With Naomi's glutin sensitivity, it is challenging finding places to eat, so home cooking is best.  After so much Israeli food all last week, I welcome her cooking.

It is good to be back at the clinic.  We are five volunteers this week, from Germany, Canada, Finland and the US. Yesterday was my first day and I have my regular assistant, Michel.   Well, got to go to work!

End of bike trip

We have now finished five amazing days of cycling in the north. To capture the depth and detail of the most incredible scenery with my little camera is next to impossible but because there was a professional photographer constantly shooting long the route, I will be able to post a sample of his stuff within the next few days.

This cycling trip was by far the best we have had in the eight years we have been here.  We made wonderful friends , bicycled over 8000 metres of vertical , over 500 kms of the most challenging hills I have yet encountered, and were inspired by the disabled war veterans who not only joined our rides, but weaved their optimism and strengths into our hearts and became our friends.

We are now back in Tel Aviv getting ready for the next phase of the trip in Jerusalem.  Last night, we had a tour of the Beit Halochem facility here in Tel Aviv and finished the evening with a great outdoor dinner at the complex.  The facility deserves its separate posting which will follow.

Another great day with lots of climbing

I will post pictures later but you certainly can't experience the views with photos - lots of climbing in the most spectacular areas of the Golan Heights with steep climbs and dizzying switchback descents at crazy speeds.

The weather has cooperated - sunny and warm but not so hot that we are uncomfortable.  Tonight we are staying at another beautiful resort in the Golan overlooking Mount Hermon.  Hagoshrim Resort is the place we stayed last year - great food and accommodations.

I need to mention that some of the wounded veterans were with me on my ride - they rode on tandems with experienced volunteer riders who were incredibly strong, being able to climb the steep hills with those heavy bikes.  I won't complain about my aches and pains having met these most admirable war heroes - some were completely or partially blind, some with a leg or arm missing and one fellow that I befriended who had lost all his fingers on his hands, suffered such severe devastation to his face that most of his jaw, nose and face were reconstructed. I so admire their courage and spirit and their will to live in spite of continued pain they experience.

First ride today

What an amazing day today - weather couldn't have been better - somewhat overcast but comfortably warm - ideal for riding the 105 km route with just one moderately challenging climb of 600 metres.  Seems like I will be the strongest rider in my group which is probably not saying much, but at least it impresses the other riders.  I led the climb with one other rider and the rest of our group trailed behind.  Only problem is that it meant we had to wait for the others at various spots along the way.

We are staying at an absolutely beautiful hotel in Tiberius called Gai Beach Hotel - pronounced "guy not "gay" and it certainly isn't!  Went for a swim in their large outdoor pool after the ride and had an incredible buffet supper with just about anything (kosher) you could ask for.

Need to rest up for a tougher ride tomorrow.

Arrived in Israel for our 8th time!

Boardwalk after dinner

Left Toronto on Thursday at 4pm - what a glorious day, warm and sunny.  Nimi got in a short bike ride just a short time before Mike took us to the airport.  A shame I couldn't get in a ride,  but priorities.....

It's Friday at 5:30 PM and we just checked in to the City Hotel in Tel Aviv. Weather is pretty warm and humid - had a brief rain shower go thru before we assembled our bikes. It was a long plane ride as usual but uneventful and most importantly, our bikes and luggage arrived safely.  

One of the riders in our group arranged for a large (extra big) touring van to transport the eight of us on our flight with all the bikes and luggage to the Beit Halochem building where we assembled our bikes. 

We had a taxi take four of us to our hotel in a typically very small car with my luggage strapped to the roof.

Day off tomorrow to hang around the beach and then we get bussed north to our first launch

location for the start of our ride on the Galilea on Sunday morning.

Going to go for supper now and then hit the sack.

Count down until departure to Israel

cool for riding now

Cool overcast weather in Richmond Hill as we finished our 50km workout ride is only making the trip to Israel more enticing. Hard to imagine that in exactly one week from now we will by cycling in 30 C sunny weather in the north of Israel on the Beit Halochem bike ride. 

For the next few days, Nimi and I will be preoccupied with rounding up all our gear for the flight on Thursday.  We hope to squeeze in a few more bike rides before packing up the bikes, as we want to be in good shape for 5 days of tough riding.