Day Five - The Climb to Jerusalem

So after 3 days of shockingly stunning weather (despite the doomsday forecasts that promised to ruin the ride), today was ANOTHER glorious, sunny day... until lunchtime. We had climbed some really steep trails all morning, had a quick snack pitstop and then slogged ahead through Yaar Kedoshim, one of my favorite areas (I trained there a week ago). But it was literally uphill from 7:45 to noon, with so much mud that we all looked like Jackson Pollack paintings... splattered over our shoes, clothes, faces, bikes. Like, it was a joke to try to avoid puddles or mud patches.We just... gave in. And the non-stop up was a crazy test of endurance that even challenged some of the hotshots (they are great at sprints, on aggressive, rocky trails and sort/medium climbs, but hours of it requires a different kind of stamina). About an hour before lunch, just as I discovered I needed to stop to pump up my tire because of a tiny hole, it started to drizzle (I was pretty soaked by the time I was back riding), and over lunch it POURED. They had little disposable raincoats for us to wear during the hour we were soaked and shivering... we couldn't leave any earlier because we had to sync with the other groups.

Then they changed the route to avoid what was now a swampy set of long, steep trails, and the police closed a section of the road for us to take instead... 15 minutes of long, smooth downhill over asphalt... sort of a nice reprieve after the morning. Then we met up with the on-road groups and the one-day people, and all together the group of 500-600 people pushed through the final climb, huffing and puffing for about 30 minutes. It was really intense, but the adrenaline from knowing it was moments from the end kept us all going...  we rolled into the hospital riding high, and Dena, Keren and Gili were there to meet me...

Here is the map and stats, and then I think the pictures tell the rest of the story:

 

All in all, it was a wonderful week, with wonderful people, for a wonderful cause. There are people who have done it for 15 years, which blows my mind. And the craziest thing? The average age is probably a bit older than me (45-50?), which a LOT of people in their 60s taking on these long, intense rides, either on-road or off-road. Inspirational, and always reminds me of my VERY favorite (albeit slightly creepy) quote:

And I can't finish my blog without thanking Dena, who once again gave me non-stop support through the months of intense training, buying all kinds of equipment, and especially for holding down the fort all this week, tracking my progress, encouraging me every day with texts and calls, without being pushy about updating her at every turn... and for being, for real, a full part of this effort. 

Day Four - Jay Has a Crack Habit?

Insane day. First, the stats:

Check out the calories. Yeah. 

We started the morning with a series of nice singles between agricultural areas and forests... Including one with a bee hive that someone must have kicked because half a dozen people got stung. 

Then we had a climb that, alone, would have been enough to 'earn' us the day. A crazy-steep dirt path and then a road piece. Lots of people walked... I made it up riding, but just barely. 

And then a crazy thing. 

You will remember that yesterday morning I had discovered a crack in my bike frame and got a loaner from the mechanics. So today as we pulled into the pit stop, something about my loaner bike felt weird. The back tire was rubbing against the bracket above it when I climbed. I got off and found this:

... The frame right at the back axel was simply broken. Now you have to understand, I'm not overweight and I wasn't writing aggressively at all. There is no logical explanation for me to have actually broken a second bike. Just really, really crappy luck. Anyway,  I found the mechanics again and said "Um, remember how you said you only had one spare bike? Any chance that has changed over the last 24 hours?" At this point I was really sure that the ride was over or I would have to ask Dena to somehow rent or borrow a bike and bring it to our hotel just outside Jerusalem so that I could ride up to the hospital tomorrow on the final day. Anyway, I had some good luck -- somehow have one available for me. 

It's a "hardtail", which means it has no central shock absorber, which you really feel on long rides. The upside is that on singles, some people prefer it because there's less bouncing and you 'feel' the trail. Which was good, because...

The next phase was a split between regular off-road and Enduro - both had a long, painful onroad climb up a mountain to the buses, but Enduro riders first had a massive single, about an hour zooming around forest trails that never seemed to end. There were plenty of ups and down,  but most of it was was smooth paths, relatively flat and curvy. Very, very fast zigzagging for what felt like forever.  Pure adrenaline for an hour. Looked like this:

And then was The Mountain. Probably the longest climb I've ever done - over an hour of steep nonstop climbing up the access road to the top of this:

It was pure willpower to just keep pushing without stopping to rest. Some of the guys I had watched all week moving past me were chugging up painfully. Every time we came around a curve, there was another steep piece to tackle. It was the definition of Sisyphusian   

I made it, somehow, and enjoyed a fabulous beer that felt well earned :-). We are now on the bus on the way to Jerusalem for the Gala dinner tonight and then the final day! We have managed to outrun the rain for three days, but tomorrow may be a problem. Storm in the forecast. We will ride either way...

Going to sleep well tonight :-)

Day Three - a terrifying moment (before we headed out)

Today we had another day of stunning weather; bright blue skies with just enough clouds to keep the sun from overheating us. We did about 30 km of relatively flat cross country riding, then spent almost an hour slogging up what looked like A riverbed made of volcanic rock and soil. A lot of people were walking for chunks of it. Lots of serious huffing, puffing and good-natured cursing. Thoroughly exhausting. After lunch we had another two long flat sections of 15 km each as we crossed the Hula Valley. The whole day was about 50. 

So nothing earth shattering or really interesting about the ride itself. The problem happened when I got on my bike this morning and I felt something wasn't quite right with the seat. I looked down and found a deep crack in the bike frame where it's welded into a joint under the seat. No way to fix that up at the mechanics truck, but luckily they had one spare bike available that they will let me use for the rest of the ride. It's a little bit small and the seat is drop lower than I like it, but it's a bike and it means I can keep riding. The truth is, in between a couple of those flat stretches today we had some very long, fast, rocky hillsides that we shot down and the bike handles it admirably. Being a little closer the ground was actually kind of nice. Anyway, it should be under warranty because I bought it less than a year ago, so I will deal with that when I get back. The guy who is organizing the right for the hospital is actually the ex-owner of the bike shop where I bought it, so I'm sure I can get his help in making sure that the warranty is honored. 

Obviously, it's quite a downer not to have my own bike to ride, but i'm glad there was an available alternative and that this didn't end my ride (and also happy that the bike frame is what has a crack in it and not any part of my body!). It's a little scary to think of what would've happened if I wouldn't have noticed and try to ride with it, and something would've happened out in the middle of nowhere. They have jeeps that drive around with us, but they can't always get to some of the narrow areas and meet us for the run. Anyway, I won't dwell on what may have happened, and just look forward to tomorrow. There are rumors of a massive storm on the way, but so far all the weather rumors have been completely wrong in the last two days have been stunning. 

Day Two - What a difference a day makes

Today the weather was just stunning. We left at 7.30 and took a look stretch with the on-road folks, which was wild. It's really a different culture. After we split up, we took a couple of paths and got back on the road, this time for a loooong, intense climb. It was the first of a series, adding up to just under 1000 meters over the course of the day. We climbed gravel. We climbed volcanic rock in a weird gray black mix. We climbed dirt. It was exhausting, but we were all so eager to ride after yesterday that I think it gave us (well me, at least) strength. The day ended with a 15 km flat/downhill zippy canyon trail that spiked the adrenaline.

Tonight was the annual Alyn hospital presentation, with a few speeches and videos that remind us why we are doing it all. Also a tribute to two cops who protected is last year and died shortly after, one on an accident and the other stopping the ax-wielding terrorists in last year's jerusalem synagogue attack. He and the terrorist killed each other - he was a Druze, and the whole family was there...

Tomorrow the weather forcast is shaky. Might be anothe soaking wet day... We will probably ride, but they've got plans for non-mud trails. I hope :-)

Day One - Yeah. Rain. And...mud

Sadly, nothing to report today. At lunch they told us that we had to call it a day because all of the paths to our final destination were simply unpassable. Deep muddy ravines and even a couple of flash floods were reported along the route. everybody is still in good spirits, and looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings. It's obviously nobody's fault, so there are no negative vibes as we get ourselves cleaned up and hosed down. Our bodies, gear, and bikes are simply covered in the mud. So gross. 

Round Three - 2015!

Standing outside the house ready to be picked up at 5:30, I'm looking at the weather forecast for on and off rain all week and wondering how this is all going to play out. It's supposed to be the hardest and longest ride ever, and adding that into the equation means a new, scary fractor that yes, does spike the adrenaline a bit. Nice to know that we're all in it together and I don't need to make any decisions about how to handle things. If you happen to of been subscribe to the blog and get this as a surprise, send me a note so I know you're listening. I might need the encouragement over the next five days.