It is amazing how quickly the time went on this trip - the week on the bike ride seemed to fly by. The 5 days of riding were incredible - our challenge group worked well together. I had 5 riders that pushed me to my limit. Day 1 was really tough when I struggled with heat and wind and thought the ride of over 110 km would never end. Most of us were hurting from that ride, but how quickly we forgot the pain when we enthusiastically climbed Mount Hermon the next day in over 134 km of challenging climbs and steep descents with tight switchbacks.
Day 3 was a rest day for me while the challenge group did a punishing ride with two major climbs. I was happy to ride 60 km with Nimi on the tourist ride around the Kinneret. The scenery around the Kinneret is beautiful and at a more leisurely pace, I was able to really enjoy it. When we returned to our resort, we immediately changed into swim wear an enjoyed a refreshing swim in the lake.
Day 4 back on the challenge ride was great. My legs were fresh and I was happy to work with the lead group at a fast pace. The last day was shortened to only 60 km as we rode in the Jerusalem forest from Latrune back up to Jerusalem past the Hadassah Hospital on a nice long climb to Beit Halochem. Our bikes were packed up in their bike boxes by the bike company and were transported back to our hotel in Tel Aviv.
Deciding to do something different when we returned to Tel Aviv, the next day Nimi and I went for a bike ride - we borrowed old low tech bicycles from the hotel and did a touring ride along the Mediterranean actually looking at all the beautiful scenery along the way.
As I make this journal entry in the hotel lobby, a rainbow appeared in the horizon over the sea. I captured it here on the tablet.
