life...

there is life beyond biking. it includes spending time with my new family, playing the drums with my new band and reading... usually you'll find me going through car magazines, but i actually started a new book- the new edition of old Sherlock Holmes stories. its awesome.

i also had the time to visit the national bike show, and it was truly eye opening. the whole industry put on the best possible show they could master, and it showed. the israeli bike industry is probably the fastest growing in the western world, and its an honor to be a part of it these days.

the weather is finally about to match the date on the calender, and i hear the sky will open on sunday and monday... time to ride some singlespeed in the mud. pictures will follow, ofcourse.

have a good weekend, everybody.

racing...

in the past year i havn't really had a lot of time on my hands, training wise, so i had to work with what i had. gone are the days of 5-6 hours in the saddle (for the meanwhile...), and a 2 hour ride is all i have. so racing has come down to short mini downhill races, all mountain races and the odd singlespeed race. that's why i decided to skip this year's 100 mile race...
i'll be back next year, i guess.

god, i miss blogging !!!

well, again, it's been a while, and so much has been going on since i last blogged. so here i am, back in the saddle, so to speak. i hope there are still people reading this blog...

winter, so it seems, will never come back to israel, which sucks as hell. i really miss riding in the rain in Horshin, slipping all over the place, clogging my knobies with mud, getting dirty, tired and cold. winter- if you hear me, we get it, now its time to come back.

anyway... lots of great bike racing since last time. first, it was an all mountain race, sort of a super-D, during the only rainy day we had this winter. it was muddy and wet- and i won, riding my 29 inch singlespeed. you know it works awesome in the mud, right?

after that- the 24 hour race, in which i rsced as a member of a 4 man team. we did not win, but it was lots of fun, and i actually recorded the fastest lap of the weekend- on my 29 inch singlepeed...

and then- the singlespeed race in ben shemen, to which people refered to as "the israeli singlespeed championship". the field was packed, and it was an event to remember. going into the 5th and last lap, leading by about 3 minutes, a CAR ran into me (!!), as i was going at about 35 km an hour, throwing me to the ground. i got up, looked to see if there was anything broken in my body (there wasn't), jumped on my bike, and won anothr singlespped race !! wwwooohhhoooo. except, there was somthing broken... my beautiful Superfly hardtail. fuck.

i'll see what'll happen with that insurance claim.

and last, but not least- today i finished third, in anothr super-D race, on my singlespeed...

i think i see a pattern here.

i don't like gears.

who's your daddy?

so... here we are, three weeks since birth, and as our Ori grows rapidly with every passing day- so are we, as parents.

baths, diapers, poo poo, wee wee, crying and relaxing. we have it all here... the only thing that's really lacking is sleeping hours. well, who cares? sleeping is for the weak.

once again, i've been asked to be the host of a major biking event- the israeli XC marathon championship. being out of shape as i am at the moment, i agreed to host instead of race. it was a nice little gig.

and speaking of getting into shape... there are 3 races on the horizon: two weeks away is the 24 hour race in ben shemen, and i'm taking it easy, being a part of a 4 men group. two weeks after that- the greatest ever SingleSpeed event, again, in ben shemen, and i intend to give it all i've got. and december- the annual 100 mile desert race. i think i'll go, once again, singlespeed. desired finishing time- 7 hours and 25 minutes.

time to get into shape, then.

she's here...

our beutiful daughter- Ori, was born 3 days ago, healthy and sound, weighing 3 kg and looking like a princess...

i have to say it was the most powerful experience i had ever had, looking at my new baby coming into this world from within the womb, after waiting for so long.

Moran and Ori are home now, and wer'e getting used to waking up at night, talking poo poo talks and enjoying watching her different baby faces.

it's been a long journey, and its the beginning of a new and bold one.

let's go.

and now we wait...

its been a loooooooong time since i last updated the blog. i just did not feel like it...
i think i'm back now, but you never know, do you?

moran and i are awaiting our first child, a baby girl, who's supposed to come any day now, as moran is well into her 39th week. its the month of the jewish holidays, so it'll be the greatest present, to meet our baby right about now.

i've been trying to ride a little more in the past week, cause i plan on racing the 24 hour race, october 22nd, but if i'm not in shape by then, i'll do it as a couple's race with the shap. time will tell.

see ya soon? maybe.

another week, another bike test...

just got this niner carbon single speed for a magazine test. it must be one of the most beautiful bikes i've ever ridden, with special thanks to this gorgeous rigid fork...

mind you, the frame accepts gears, so you do not have to be a sadistic ass to ride this piece of art. truly amazing...

moran and i managed to squeeze a short visit to the old city of Jaffa, before i went to play the drums with a new band i'm starting to work with.

after years of training so hard on my bike, when music has been side-lined for so long, its time for it to come back.

ah.... its music to my ears.

my secret project...

this is my 9th and last bike (so far)... not sure about the year, but i reckon somtime around 93\94, and its TREK's first full carbon bike. got it from my brother in law, and i'm about to turn it into a city single-speed, messenger style.

i already started stripping it of any noticable gearing paraphernalia, and i'll equip it with v-brake handles and flat bar. any gearing suggestions? i want it to be a magic gear- no tensioners on this bike. would like to hear your thoughts...

a working man.

after settling in in our new house, i can actually start working again. so, its an early morning session with new riders, working on technical stuff, and i mean REALLY early, because i found that people like riding at 5:30 am... and then i just chill at home till afternoon.

and then its time for a ride with a kids group or another technical lesson, and i call it a day.

somtimes i even manage to write in the evenings. oh, and what about training for my self, you ask? training is for the weak.

anyway, its almost august, and every year, around this time, i get these flashes of memories from the years i've spent racing and living in the states. the long looooong drives across the plains, riding through the rockies, racing with the TREK VW team... good times.

i wish that one day i would take Moran and the kid(s), and go for a long RV trip around the US of A. someday soon, i hope.

'been testing this UNIVEGA trailbike, and i rather like it. its an FSR suspension design, and other than the constant bobbing in the open position- its a very good package with excellent value for money. a full test- on the september issue of MountainBikeAction israel.

oh, and wer'e pitching it against a 120 mm 29er... hmmm.

see ya'.

MERIDA MULTIVAN TEAM IN ISRAEL.MOV

the heat is on...

being the host of the european championship was one of the most exciting things i had ever done. calling to the line and talking to riders like gunn rita dahl, cristioph sauser and ralph naf was an honor, and i had so much fun talking non stop to the microphone...

280 riders from all over europe were here, and the weather was hot, hot, hot.

now i'm back to my old day-job: riding bikes and write about it. well, it was fun while it lasted.

had a crazy video interview with the merida multi-van team. they're all so nice.

anyway, this is it for tonight, thank you very much. see you in the next episode of- the tonight show, with H redlich.

over and out.

the tonight show... with.... H Redlich !!

no pictures- sorry...
anyway, i've been working like a dog in the past three weeks or so, and the peak is this weekend- the XC european championship, which takes place right here, in israel !!!
and, trying to multi-task, i'm the host of the hole shabang...
it a 4 day festival in which i have the best sit in the house, at the start\finish line, talking to the microphone, with thousends of people listening...
i'll try to update with pictures from the front line.

hey, if you can't beat them, announce them.

back. again.

so... three crazy weeks have come upon me, and at last- they have passed. moran finished her year at university of Haifa, and moved in to our new house. wwoooohhhooooo....
so wer'e back in Sdey Hemed, surounded by horses, chickens and even some goats... oh, and there are those two roosters that kookoorikoo every two hours or so... we love it here.
tantan loves it here.

last weekend i even went to a CCC road training ride. it was a rather hard and fast one, and the weather was horrible- 34 degrees and as humid as hell. i chose my gary-fisher super fly, with the road tires, and while everyone was busy suffering up the hills, i flashed the camera with my nipple!!! take that, roadies!!!

moran's pregnancy is going great, and we actually feel our little baby kicking (or is it pedaling??) by putting our hands on moran's pregnant belly... it is so exciting.

this weekend i'm off to mizpe-ramon, for another technical course i'm teaching, and on saturday- a long long ride, but this time, with an important cause.

its an all night ride (175 km off road), to the start of the Free Gilad Shalit walk, from his house up north, to Jerusalem. its a noble cause, and the ride is our way to show that we care.

have a great weekend.

peace.

wedding season...

its summer time, and with it comes wedding season. that means that my stomach is full of meat and beer, and that my wallet is empty...

'been testing these rather beautiful merida one twenty trailbike. it feels right in the middle between a cross country rig, and a trail animal... details in the august edition of mountain bike action israel.

sorry (again) for not updating that much lately. its been a busy month, with the move and all... i promise to update a little more.

moran has been taking some pregnancy pictures of me... notice my belly getting bigger and bigger.

i've been bamboozled...

red bull after thoughts:
#1. you do not have to win every run, if the first two out of 4 go to the next round.
#2. being the fastest does not necessarily mean you're gonna win.
#3. mountain bikers rule!
#4. pressure suits make you sweat like crazy.
#5. i'm rather good at riding bikes- whatever discipline i take on...
#6. getting older does make you a wuss.
#7. do not leave your cell phone unattended. someone WILL steal it.
#8. downhill racing takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r...
#9. my bike choice was spot on.
#10.if you go too fast- people WILL conspire against you.
#11. getting to the half finals, and lose- sucks like hell.

sorry for not posting good pictures... i was busy riding and sweating. some good pics are on the way...

all over the place...

the RED BULL road rage race is a week away, and i finally managed to get the bike ready. its my superfly 29er, wearing a 32 mm wide road tires (bontrager race lite hard case). the front fox shock has been replaced with a carbon rigid bontrager raceXlite fork, and a compact road cranks by FSA.

after riding the course 7 times, i can say its a little scary and brutally fast. lots of pedalling and loads of adrenalin. the braking points are easy to find, but the turns exits are somtimes hard to spot early, 'cause the turns are so tight. hairpins, really...

thats it. we are ready for the move, and on saturday evening we will be sleeping in our new house in Sdey Chemed. i guess next pics will be from there.

moran and i went for a walk on the beach, as a farewell to the sea, which was so close to our house in the past year and a half.

this house saw us getting ingaged, marrying each other, and conceiving our yet to be born daughter. we love this house, but its tiime to move on... and so we do.

sitting on the boxes...

moran and i have almost finished packing the house, and the memories of this place are coming back... the moments we shared... from the house warming to the moment we found out moran was pregnant.

meanwhile, and through the chaos of this month, i've managed to squeeze a few rides of my own, in preparation for the RED BULL road rage down hill race, which happens next week.

tomorrow i'm heading to the race course, with the bike i barely managed to prepare. its my superfly, with 32 mm road tires and a compact road cranks...

pictures will come soon.

a busy, busy, busy week.

i've been all over the place in the past few weeks. my car has been munching diesel, as i've been driving to my parents house back and forth, working at our new house. its looking good...

i wonder how tantan will manage the move. oh, by the way, the little tiger found a snake today in our back yard!!

at last- i have a race in sight: the RED BULL ROAD RAGE downhill race. its happening on june 4th in Mevo Hama, one of the country's most famous climbs. i'm one of the few who got an invitation to this crazy race. now i have to prepare the right bike. a road, downhill race- it must be a mountainbike, then...