Low-riding bike race

December 24, 2008 - 11:55 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Environment, General, Sports, Travel 

Tour de Dead SeaAwareness over the plight of the rapidly receding Dead Sea has thankfully been growing, and Israeli culture’s dedication towards cycling has too. Put the two trends together, and the time is ripe for the Tour de Dead Sea, a day-long bike event taking place this Saturday at the lowest pace on earth. The many versions of the race on offer through the event include road trails of 55 and 124 kilometers in length and off-road trails of 5, 16 and 42 kilometers in length.

Thanks to the event’s association with the International Cycling Union’s Golden Bike organization (which, among other roles, points the word’s most hardcore cyclists towards what they call the “best races in the world”), the Tour de Dead Sea is expected to attract over 1000 participants from many nations, including Jordan – Israel’s neighbor with which she shares the Dead Sea’s shores. Proceeds will go to efforts to save the Dead Sea.

Mid-winter is a slightly odd time to have chosen for such an event, but not just from a comfort perspective. When the winter rains come to Israel, much of the water that falls in the center of the country rolls downhill through a system of wadis (rivers that are dry for most of the year) towards the Dead Sea, making for flash floods and road closures. Tour de Dead Sea planners have, however, kept these conditions in mind, stating that even though it’s a rain-or-shine event, if the forecast calls for danger, they’ll postpone.

While ecologists will certainly be rooting for precipitation, the event’s participants and their loved ones may not, what with the array of activities on offer all day long. These include seminars on saving nature, musical instrument invention workshops, a bazaar selling fashion and cycling accessories, concerts, a group mud smear, back and muscle pain treatments (sponsored by organizations like No Pain and Way of the Back), and camping out on Kalia Beach – all free to participating cyclists and their families.

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The tourist cycles

November 3, 2008 - 4:46 PM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Environment, General, Sports, Travel 

Cycling and IsraelThe Israeli government’s recent aggressive courting of various niche tourist markets has targeted the Chinese and the gay, and now officials seem bent on attracting the cycling crowd.

Members of a subculture that espouses environmentalist as well as fitness values, bicyclists have been gaining momentum in Israel as of late, through expanded local and national cycle-friendly development endeavors as well as cycling community activities. There was even a highly publicized event that combined the ever-growing wine tourism niche with the cycling niche – and a Jewish holiday (not sure how that one turned out).

Back in the heady days of August, local environmentalism blog Green Prophet quoted Tourism Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balili on Israel’s bicycle tourism development plans:

“The Tourism Ministry leads the development of the cycling tourism industry as part of its policy to position Israel as a unique and quality tourist destination at an international level. This is in light of the worldwide trend in the tourism industry that places cycling tourism as a significant and developing market segment. Developing the industry will improve Israel’s image around the world and increase tourist traffic, while preserving the environment.”

Last week, the blog followed up with the latest details on the budget and where it’s going. Some NIS 20 million in “short-term” (through 2013) spending is said to cover the planning and creation of cycling paths all over the country, including a north-to-south Israel-spanning cycling route and regional loop trails that circle the perimeters of population clusters and bodies of water.

Image courtesy TLVshac from Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

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Riding the Kinneret

October 30, 2008 - 3:25 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Holidays, Life, Sports 

For cyclists in Israel, it’s one of the biggest events of the year – every November thousands of them descend on the Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), to take part in the round-the-Kinneret ride.

We were planning to do it last year, but my husband – a mountain bike fanatic who likes to leap off large boulders and throw himself down steep hillsides – fell off his bike on a sedate family biking trip in Hiyarkon park and injured his knee.

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This Saturday – barring any last minute falls – we’ll be setting off at 6.30am with the 10,000 or so cyclists expected to take part in this popular fall event.

I must admit, originally I was planning to take part in the 65 kilometer ride – right around the Kinneret, but I got cold feet when we drove there a week ago and I realized that the road, which always looked rather flat from the window of a car, was actually pretty hilly; and the other side of the Kinneret vanished threateningly into the haze, an alarmingly long distance away.

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Still, I can’t make too much fuss, my 10-year-old is planning to do the long route with three of his friends, and a couple of parents more used to cycling long distances than I am (my idea of cycling these days mostly involves sitting on a spinning bike in an air-conditioned room for an hour with loud dance music and a teacher shouting encouragement.)

He’s either a great deal fitter than me, or he just can’t envision how hard it will be. I suspect the latter. I’ve warned him it will be hard. I’ve warned him he’ll be cycling for at least four hours. I’ve warned him that his butt will ache for days afterwards, and that the last 20km will be the hardest thing he’s ever done – but he won’t be swayed. Two of his friends did it last year and they’ve been boasting about it ever since. He may be 10, but it’s his manhood at stake.

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We’re doing the 31 km ride, joined by my eight-year-old who is particularly interested in the medals they give out to all participants at the end (will it have a bicycle on mummy?), and my two and a half year old, who will travel in style in a pull-along buggy, milk, snacks and toys at an easily reachable distance.

It promises to be a beautiful day, and perhaps, after all the rain this week, the Kinneret will even be a little fuller. If any readers are taking part, do let me know – we can wave at one another as we go round.

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