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...

going bi-color...

it's been a while since i really "trained" on my bike, so going out and logging the hours in the saddle was hard at first. but in the last two weeks i gave it a boost, and now i actually feel rather fast. two weeks ago, just finishing a 5 hour ride was hard, and left me tired and frustrated. in the last 3 days i rode 18 hours total- and i feel great. good.

this weekend wer'e going down south for the "sde boker 100". i'll ride my 9.9 singlespeed, and i think i'll do good. i'll ride a steady pace, and try to go faster every lap.

and finally, the rain is here. its not cold, by any means, but the single tracks have been crying for some water streaming down them.

here's for some cloudy days.

mt. Hermon singlespeed climb...

friday, 6am. a silent group of mountainbikes starts the long climb up the highest mountain in israel. the bikes are silent, alright, but the riders are anything but... this group is an amazing gathering of people of all ages, and all parts of society. they are really the best of the best.

the climb itself seems easier and easier each time i do it. i'm there for the vibe. for the guys (and girl...), for the experience.

the single speed commune has become the most vibrant and lively group of riders in the israeli biking scene, and it all started with one guy- Ilan Carmel. the man celebrated his birthday on friday, by climbing up the Hermon on his SS, with the group he had gathered up. respect.

and mazal tov, Ilan.

this week will be about more riding hours, and a 100 km race on saturday, which i'll ride aboard my Singlespeed. maybe i'll wipe the dust off my 9.9 racebike.

maybe.

fall events.

the next weekends are packed full of events and rides. this weekend is the Hermon singlespeed climb, and a night with my babe on the Kineret's beach. next weekend is the Sde Boker 100- a weekend for the soul...

Moran and i will go down to sde boker, and spend the night in a tent over there. in the morning we will ride our separate ways- moran heading for a ride through the scenic roads of the area, and i will race the 100km race on my singlespeed. awesome.

and the weekend after that is the Ride Around The (what used to be) Galilee sea. ofcourse we can't miss that, right? see you down the trails, i guess.

new bike day..!

oh, the joy of the new bike day... just got my new ride- a 2009 gary fisher superfly. its sweeeet.
ofcourse i put it right away on a little diet. i switced the seatpost, handle bars, cassette, cranks, seat and tires. now it weighs a respectable- 10.17 kg. again- sweeeeeeeeeeeet.

so next week is a big one, with lots of riding. this saturday will see me riding a 7 hour pre\race\post race ride, and on tuesday- a 5 hour desert ride. on the weekend i will (maybe) climb up the Hermon mt. with the singlespeed gang, and ride back home the day after the climb. here comes the pain.

and moran and i managed to squeeze awesome trip up north on tuesday.

life is good. yeah. good.

well, back to reality...

so. here i am, a full month before the longest ride of my life, and i feel a little out of shape. the wedding preparations and all, you know...

so i built myself a little training plan. a two week ride-your-bike-as-much-as-you-can, and go to sleep early kind of plan. its working. i do go to sleep early.

and i am hungry all the time, so it must say something about my riding. it also might just say that i'm about to get fat.

here comes the bride...

okay, so that's it... wer'e married. now i can tell that we gave away 150 bike bells, so that the guests would use them as we went down the aisle... except i did not walk... i rode my trek 9800 down the aisle, to the sounds of Queen's song- bicycle race. it was awesome.

moran walked down the aisle, looking like the princess that she is. this is a picture i took, standing under the chupa, waiting to kiss my wife.

the braking of the glass symbolises that, still, not everything is perfect in the world. it also symbolises the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one.

and this is where i stand. where we stand...

welcome to the new world.

even a 1000 mile trip...

that's it. its the end of an era for me, and the beginning of a new chapter. i never thought that closing the lid on my single life would look and feel so right and easy, but it is...

next ride will be a married man's ride.

its the same ride, only different.