post number 500 !!!

this is the 500th post... how time flies. what started out as a road trip blog for my last US racing season, has now transformed into a real life blog. you are following not only my riding adventures, but also my ups and downs, my thoughts and love life... its all here.

and being that this is post number 500, i am really excited. some times i find myself looking at the world through a blogger's eye, thinking "is this blog meterial?". well, most of the time it is- and you get it all right here.

i want to thank all of my readers, and there are more than i ever dreamed of. thanx for taking a look at my life. our life...

here's to the next 500.

blogging blockage.

somtimes i find it hard to write a post in the blog. its not that there's nothing going on in my life, its just that its not always in me, writing about it in the blog. thing is, i feel obliged to do so, mostly because i have alot of readers, just like you...

the other day i saw a "kermit" on the road, just like mine. i wonder if his A\C isn't working well, just like mine, and the electric windows refuse to work- just like mine, and if the gearbox stick falls apart right out of its place- just like mine does. i love this car.

a soldier in the army of singletrack builders, ofcourse.

life. work. wedding. biking.

in between rides, work and writing, moran and i actually find the time to work on our wedding. you know what? there's alot to do, but it is much simpler than i thought it would be...

racing those short XC races is not as fun as it used to be for me. i enjoy the looooooooong races so much better. under five hours? huh!

yes, i would like one of those, please. to go.

i sense a trend...

just got a new awesome bike for a magazine test. it has almost all the things i like in a bike, folded into a package. its a chromoly frame, a 29er and it has no suspension. the only downside is that it has 27 gears. 26 too many...
its a GT peace, btw.

went to the "knights of the big wheel" event, and it was one for the books. alot of true bike lovers. we were riding in groups, in some of the best trails in israel, looking like the 29er gang.

then we had water melons and beer, and then it was food time. and beer. then everyone gathered for a 29 inch Q&A, and i took a (small) part in answering the burning questions.

i think i'm the only one with a regular headset top. that makes me very special...

back to business...

i'm riding again, but with this heat, i actually wish i couldn't... maybe its just me, or the fact that i'm getting older, but i feel like this summer is hotter than ever.

it might be the fact that i've spent the last 4 summers in colorado, or in canada. israeli summer sucks.

this thursday i'm about to attend a super cool event, called "the knights of the big wheel", and its all about 29 inch bikes. we will ride, eat, and as a dedicated 29 rider, i will be a part of a panel that answers questions about the benefits of the big wheels. the benefits? both the US marathon nationals, AND the XC nationals this year were won aboard a 29 inched wheeled bike.

would YOU like to convert?

if life gives you lemons...

just make a lemonade. which i did. not being able to ride for a few days has its benefits. moran and i went for a trip up north, that did not involve any bike related activities. it was rather refreshing...

even though its mighty hot outside, the water in the streams is cold and wet. wetter then regular water. or not.

the contrast between the dry and deserty(ish) Golan heights, and the green and lush valley below is striking. anyway, it was awesome sleeping out of the house, and in a tent, on a river bank. we should do it more often...

tomorrow is the israeli mtb nationals, in which i do not take part. i'll go watch, though, and see them suffer in the scorching heat, dirty from the dust, fighting for a better position. i wish i were there...

i'm okay, but it hurts...

well, nothing's broken, as the good doctor said, but i'm out for a while... no riding for me. or moving fast, for that matter. i hope to be back on a road bike soon enough.

meanwhile we are working on the wedding plans, as i try not to breath too much. breathing hurts.

so... no israeli championship for me. the next big race, as far as i'm concerned, is the 400 km, un-assisted desert race in november. i will have to log alot of road hours, so messing up my chest bones was not that bad, afterall...

another long weekend.

no pictures yet, but if i did have my USB cable, you would see me sitting on the sofa, breathing slowly, as one of left ribs is a little cracked. a long story, which has nothing to do with bikes.
i went go carting. someone bumped into me. hard.
i won, though...
was it worth it? hmm... i was sure of it last night. but now? not so much.

sorry...

sorry for not updating that much these days. its just that i'm rather busy. AND my camera USB cable went M.I.A... anyway, i've been around. i even got to ride in the desert a yesterday, riding the climb from the bottom of the Ramon crater to the city of Mitzpe ramon. three times. hmm...

on saturday morning i'm racing again. XC, sweat and gears.

a happy family...

the summer is here, in all its glory, and tantan spends most of his days outside, sleeping in the sun. then he comes in, eats, sleeps a little in the house, and goes out again to sleep outside. moran says he's a nocturnal animal, but he and I both know he sleeps through the night, too. nonstop. bastard.

its a big bottle. really. and moran was thirsty. really.

anyway, i'm tired after the hard weekend, having ridden not only the race on friday, but a hard off-road 4 hour ride on my single speed on saturday morning. rigid. my body aches.

but i'm happy.

another weekend...

racing is hard !!! the race went well, considering... i finished sixth, but actually felt quite slow. i had fun being back in the game, though...anyway, this one is in the books. next.

next weekend there's another XC race, while all our israeli racing heroes are abroad for the european championship. the shap will be there, too, and this is the place to wish him good luck- kick some euro butts.

this blog is reaching 5000 readers world wide, and counting. check out the map on the upper right screen (click on it...), and you'll see what i mean.

i wish i spoke more languages other than hebrew and english. deutsch would be cool. and yaman.

anyway...

tomorrow will see me getting up early, heading for the race, and race on the wicked championship cours... it's not the real thing just yet, but it will be in two weeks time. this is the last chance to have a go on the fast lap, and see how i feel about the coming race.

meanwhile, moran and i went to the food festival, and i ate like there is no tomorrow... indian, french, italian, anything goes. mmm...

well. yes.

getting closer...

i think my fitness is gradually climbing back to where i want it to be. i mean, i'm not about to win the championship, but i think i might be pretty fast. meanwhile, kermit (my green beauty) was at the shop again. they finally fixed my a\c so i can close the windows and enjoy the cool air from the vents.

yeah, right.

ofcourse...

road racing? surely not...

moran got my bottles ready for the race, by making the H that was written on them, into an H&M with little hearts...

since i almost never race on the road, i only got my '09 number plates this morning. well, the race was interesting, and i felt pretty good, but having no experience in road racing got me caught up in the back of the field towards the end of the race. also, i was fricking scared of all the movement within the peloton. its like a giant beast that moves all over the road. i was holding my heandlebars like it was glued to my hands.

and here he is- your '09 U23 israeli national champion- the Shap.

good job, kid.

finding the drive...

i find it very hard to have the inner drive to go out and train hard. its a thing i used to do each and every morning for years, but now it seems so hard just to get out of bed. i mean, i do ride, but i train other people, and let myself cut the corners...

this weekend is the israeli road national championship, and i'm participating in order to help the team, and as a part of my training plan for the mountainbike championship, which is 3 weeks away. i will race every weekend 'till then. i hope it works.

deja vu...

ah... there's nothing like training hard in the confines of your living room. the air-conditioning is on, a fan is circulating the room's sweaty air. your legs burn from lactic-acid, and your jaw hurts from pushing yourself to the limit. i've been here many times before, but have not done it in a long while. i'm not sure i've missed it, though...

updating again...

sorry for not updating that much lately... you see, i'm a working man. and when your work is biking all the time, that means you are also rather tired most of the time, which i am. but hey, i'm here, and your'e here- just keep on reading. BTW, this is me during last week's rigid-downhill-race eexperience. wicked.

anyway, in order to take care of my dwindeling racing fitness, i actually asked for a 4 week training program. it's meant to make a whole lot faster, comes championship day, in (drum roll...............)- 4 weeks. so- its training season. this means powermeter training, uphill intervals, early morning feasts and a sore bum. bring-it-on.

look 'ma, its a jelly-fish-chasing-yeti.

its okay, its a catch and release fishing site. huh!

dream theater !!!

the best show on earth... these guys are amazing. each and every one of them is a master of his profession, and together they create the ultimate progressive rock super group.

fuck yeah!!

it was the day everyone pulled out their black T-shirts. i've never seen that so many black T's...

i think the band was surprised by the amount of people showing up. i think there were like gazilionkajilion people. rock.

and then...

on friday afternoon, as the alcohol defused out of my body, and my knees stopped aching from dancing in the wedding, i had an XC race in horshim forest. i rode so slowly!!! i was pretty fast in the first two laps, but the heat killed me. i finished 2nd. needless to say- there were only two of us...

i felt so tired after the race, but because i wanted to race the downhill race on saturday, i had to live like a real downhiller, and went out to party in tel aviv 'till 3 AM. i even ate at 2 in the morning. party, downhill style...

and then i woke up and raced my 29 inch, single speed rigid bike on the downhill course. it was w-i-c-k-e-d. i didn't finish last! i'll find some pictures from the race and will post them later on.