2009- a retrospect...

2009 was, no doubt, the most important year of my adult life. these are four pictures that represent it the most, in my eyes.
a krembo crash- having met moran two months prior to this picture (that was taken on the very first day of the year), and finding out she really likes krembo !! i bought her this one, and it fell straight on the floor in her old appartment.

march- a 230 km race, with a knee problem that dominated the next few months after it. it was totally worth it, though...

summer 09'- moran and i have moved in together around march, and spent the spring, summer and fall living in the same house. in May i popped the question, and from there on, we were planning our wedding...

october 09'- the wedding day... it was an awesome wedding. an exciting day. a day we'll remember forever.

2009 was the year i became an adult. the year i started WORKING in the biking industry. the year i started my own family. the most important year of my life...

bring on 2010- i'm READY.

WE are ready...

the desert and i...

riding into the desert in total darkness is always a good start for an epic ride. the pace was rather fast, so my partner told me he would not ride with me, and that i should continue on my own. and so i did. seeing the desert waking up, the mountain tops take shape out of the darkness, and meeting my new friend for the day, courtesy of the sun- my shadow...

after barak told me to go on my own, i decided i should try and break last year's finishing time. the only way to do it (considering that this year's edition was actually longer...) was to stick to the plan: never stop, never stop pedalling, and when off the bike- run. thats what i did. its a meditative state, pedalling non stop, and it worked.

the desert was in a beautiful state, with water in the streams, and the weather was spot on. i rode like there was no tomorrow, and finished 1st, breaking last year's time by about 15 minutes. could have kept riding for another 100 km or so...

i wish to say thanx to all the epic riders taking part in these long loooong races. you all have mtbikers souls.

and- a last thank you to all my blog's readers. the numbers have just passed 10,000. spread the word, give some links to friends.

love you all, H.

out and about...

the awesome weather calls for some long rides. so that's what i do... took the superfly single speed and went stretching its legs. this bike rocks.

by no means is it forgiving or comfortable. its harsh and unyielding. its a true race bike.

nature at its best.

by the way- you all HAVE to go watch the movie Avatar. its unbelievable. james cameron has created one of the best movies of all times. its not all about the effects (which are beautifuly made), its also about the story, and the rythem in which it unfolds. amazing.

this friday its the "100 mile race"- take two. the bike is most definitely ready... the rider?

stay tuned...

sorry... maybe next week.

due to the foul (and frankly, shity) weather, the 100 miler will have to wait 'till next weekend. i think this is the worst racing year i've ever had, bike events being cancelled right and left.

over and out.

a hundred miler... single speed.

so, getting ready for another 100 miles in the desert... it seems easier with time, and i find myself doing all the arrangments without any added pressure. two 29 inch tubes- check, multi tool- check, enough food- check... and so on.

i know the course by heart, so i'm not taking any GPS or maps. i'll wing it.

my fitness is on a down curve, since i stopped "training" after the 400 km race, so i'm not in the greatest shape, but i think i'll do just fine.

at least the bike is all ready for the job at hand. its a beautiful machine, the superfly, and being a single-speed only makes it look sexier...

see ya' on the other side. here comes the pain !!!

weekend's here...

every friday morning i have a women's team that i coach. every friday in a different place, different weather, different scenery. today we went riding around yokne'am, and the trails over there are so beatiful now. the girls kick ass, riding up and down the hills like pro's.

anyway, this was a slow week, riding wise, as the rain did not stop... but family wise it was great, because moran's sister- gilat, had her first baby born !!! her name is Amit, and she's healthy and beatiful.

tomorrow its a road ride with the CCC squad. its been a long time since i rode with the team. sure missed everybody.

next weekend- a century race (160 km) on my singlespeed superfly. i'll have to convert it into a siglespeed on sunday, i guess. i think i'll put an 18 cog in the back. or maybe 17? we'll see...

back from the dead.......................sea.

well... the Veolia Desert Challenge was one of the best bike events i've ever attended, and i've been around. the vibe, the scene, the people, the biking. i actually feel proud of the israeli biking scene, and of the people who create it. i'm also proud of the fact that i've been around long enough to see it grow and blossom, and being there when it all happened.

Geva alon is an israeli folk-rock artist, and he performed the night before the race... the guy can sing, and write. you have to check him out. (he sings in english...).

my parents are on their way to new-zealand for a month. lucky them. love you mom and dad, and have a good trip.

i'm drooling here...!

this is my dream car. oh my god, its a beauty... the combination of the most beautiful car ever built, the citroen ds, and an off-road monster. the thing does it all...

anyway, i'm heading to the dead sea in order to participate in the couple's race over there, and write about it for the magazine. see you on sunday.

out and about...

a 69er kind of shade.
i went to my parents house yesterday, and used the opprrtunity for a 2 hour ride on my old home turf- Horshim. the place is in the best shape now, and the ride is technical and agressive, just the way i like it. i miss that place...

in the past few weeks Erez and i were thinking of taking a serious commitment. somthing of the epic kind. a race with lots of miles and lots of climbing. as the 400 km came to a halt, we had to find somthing longer...

having no other choice (...) we had to sign up for the TransAlp stage race. this july wer'e heading for the ride of our lives, crossing the german, austrian and italian alps, in an 8 day blast through the mountains. yes, life is hard.

meanwhile, i'm getting ready for a few weekends of biking, with a mini DH race next saturday (a 29er? maybe...), and a 160 km off road race in 3 weeks time. singlespeed style...

family guy, the desert ride edition.

riding 360 kilometers with my family was a true adventure that proved a few things:
1. my family rocks.
2. riding a bike for such a long distance is a true mind test, and has less to do with your actual phisical ability.
3. the hardest thing about riding a bike, especially for new riders, is sitting on their butts on the thinly padded seat.
4. biking runs deep in our family's blood line.

Dor, my 11.5 year old nephew rode the whole thing...! 360 km of riding, 4 days straight. the guy kicks ass !!!

and this is the place to thank all the participants in this family adventure: Amiri, Hana, Avraham (daddy), Hen, Keren, Dor (king of the mountains...), Raz, Tamar, Tzachi,Shaked, Shahaf and last but not least, my love- Moran.

it was a truely epic ride, which got all our family closer, in a way that only bike riding can...

here's for the next trips.

out of reach...

sorry for not updating, its just that my internet is down.
back from the family road ride to eilat, and it was epic. pictures will come tomorrow...

and now, for somthing completely different...

Erez was kind enough to loan me his singlespeed 69er, with the prospect of me buying it. two rides were enough to understand that this is the snappiest, most unpredictable bike i have ever ridden. i want it.

its like trying to tame a wild horse... you move too fast, and it jumps to the side. its as stiff as hell, its raw. you move your weight to the back, and the front lifts off the ground. you turn and lean on the front, and the rear end slides...

its a new feeling, that i've never in my life felt on a bike. oh, and it is soooooo sooooo cool.

its exactly like Travis Brown described it: its the reverse mullet, a party at the front, all business in the back. perfect.

and she's free.... free falling.

jumping out of an aeroplane seems like an un-natural thing to do- being a human, having no wings and all... so sitting on the ledge of an aircraft, looking down at 4 km of air between you and the solid hard ground, is a strange experience. i mean, do you really have to jump?

and then you do it, and you're hanging in mid-air, falling like a brick at 200 km an hour, screaming your head off- and loving every minute of it. jumping out of an aeroplane is awesome... who would have thunk?

on wednesday wer'e starting our ride from tel aviv to eilat. its a family adventure. the weather does not seem to mind our plans, and it'll be windy and wet. now we'll see just how strong minded my family is. i think i'll be pleased.

out and about...

the weather is awesome these days, with sunny skies and semi-cold air. the late morning is the best time to ride, and so i do. my new superfly is a hoot, changing direction without the usual hesitation one might relate to a 29 inch bike. its also mighty rigid, and super light. 10 kg light...

tomorrow moran and i are going sky diving !!! we've never done this before, and are very excited. actually, my only concern is the shity aeroplane in which we are taken up up up, all the way to 12,000 feet. it has propellers, for crying out loud.

and next week most of my family and i are riding our bikes from Tel aviv to Eilat, on the road. its a 4 day adventure for all of us, following the tire marks left by my uncle Chanoch, who rode the same roads as we're about to ride- 51 years ago. Chanoch did it single speed...

i wonder where he got that idea from...

back to the real world...

the days after the non-400 km race felt empty. it was a real anti-climax. so getting back on track seems like the best thing to do. hence- i went riding...

the last rains did good for the shrubbery, that seems like it had been waiting for ages for the water to pour down on it. its beautiful.

the shap likes it green. yes, he likes it really green.

it's so sad, that it's funny...

without getting into details... we were fast, felt great, and were stopped after 150 km because it is not allowed to ride in those areas at night.
i'll say it once, i'll say it loud: FUCK.
sorry for the bad language...

choose your weapon.

so... 2 days to D-day, and i'm feeling it. the tension is in the air, no doubt, but i know that once i embark on the 400 km journey, it will all fade away. it will only be the desert, the bike, my body.

it will be the place i love the most, the machine on which i spend my days, and the machine that i am. actually, its rather simple, isn't it?

Erez is most definitely ready. lets hit the road !!

i can see clearly now...

the rain has gone. it was one hell of a rain period. but, being israel- its already hot these days. moran and i are heading for the Kineret (the sea of galilee) for the annual "ride around the Kineret" event. its a 65 km ride, with thousends of participants.

a re-production...

today is exactly one year since i first met moran. i knew right away she would be my wife. here's for the years to come. love you babe.

anyway, this is the last week before the 400 km race- the biggest and most grueling bike event (or endurance event, for that matter) to have ever been done in israel.

and- i actually have a racing partner. its the man and the legend- Erez Haiun, my old 100 mile race partner. he's fit, he's hungry, he's fast. my 24 hours estimated riding time seems a little conservative right about now... how about 20 hours? hmmm.

its raining, man!!

the rain does not seem to stop. the 100 km race was cancelled due to the weather, but i managed to find a 5 hour gap to squeeze a 5 hour ride through... i'm not in the shape i really wanted to be before the 400 km race, but that's life, isn't it?

today i went on an easy ride with my singlespeed. the bike was a mud fest, but it got as clean as a whistle when the hard rain started to pour from the sky. my god, its like buckets of water thrown right at my face...

i want some sun. that's it.

sceptic israeli.

now, being an israeli, and knowing the israeli weather, allow me to be VERY sceptic when it comes to the weather forecast. they said it would rain. alot. which means...

... it will not rain. at all. and if it does rain, it would only get the edges of the trees, the roofs and the very top layer of the ground a little wet. and being an israeli, it also means i'm never wrong. ever.

so now our yard is a big swimming pool, mud is all over the place, and we can't get out of the house without getting soaked... good thing wer'e going down south.

thing is, i forgot that the weatherman is also an israeli guy. which means he's never, ever wrong. hmmm...