nothing to see here... move along...

well, my laptop is down. fricking microsoft Vista.
anyway, 'been to be'eri on saturday, and i'm still caughing dust from the storms...
the weather is all over the place, and i have a sneaking suspicion it has nothing to do with bikes polluting the atmosphere. if you live within a city (first, my condolences), ride your bike to work. it'll take you less time, cost you less money and you will be able to drink another beer every evening, knowing that your beer belly is not growing anymore, now that you're riding every day and all that...
next time, a picture ! huh.

good news.

so... daddy is officially cancer free !!! the guy is a true hero, fighting two different cancers for the past few years, using the power of positive thinking and positive doing. love you dad.

and for some planning ahead- the racing season is upon us, and having the freedom to pick and choose my races is a very cool thing to do at the beginning of the season...

a few road races, a few XC ones, and a few marathons are on the menu. i think they will all be done upon my superfly 29er, now that its built like a spaceship. some will be done single geared, and some will be done geared to the teeth.

my balls are freezing these days. is it just me? brrrrrrrrrr.....

a 10 speed cassette? surely not...

so... the superfly became a 20 speed bike. now i'm a roadie. phewwwww !!!

i'll give you some insights about the XX in a few days...

desert life...

went down to the desert, again... but this time- work. i have started working with a bike hotel, designed for mountain and road bikers who want to explore the beautiful region of the Ramon crater. its a two day technical riding school- and i'm the teacher !!!

its a really beautiful place in which to stay, and the food and company are top notch. the hotel is called "I-BIKE", and it is run by a couple who love biking, and are the greatest of hosts. Aviva and Menachem will take care of every little detail there is, and will make your stay as warm as possible.

my first group consisted of avid riders, some of them are new to the sport, and some are rather experienced. i had a blast teaching them some new ways to ride faster, better and with more confidence, and i'm amazed every time to see how fast people catch on my insights, and practice them.

the desert was alive, after the big floods of last week. the sleeping plants inside the desert's earth had waited a long time for this water to come, and everywhere you look, a fresh layer of green leaves is arising. its awesome. grab your bikes, and head down south- on your way, stop at I-BIKE for the night. it will be an experience to remember.

the madness...

another "pity the pirate" event is in the books, and it was, yet, another one to remember...

as always, its was all about the vibe, the people, the beer, the meat, the "back to the roots" atmosphere... and it had all that by the sh#t load... both literally and figuratively.

i felt great after the 5 day sickness, and had a blast riding the superfly down the fast singletracks.

the start was le-mans style, but not before gulping half a litre of the most disguting beer ever made. they seem to find a shitier beer every year, and for that they deserve my applause.

and the man behind the whole shabang is this guy, one mr. Warren Frayer...

the guy built the first singletracks in israel, and is one of the spiritual fathers of the israeli bike scene.

Warren- we salute you: schwing !!!

drunk single speed race !!!

two years ago it looked like this...

last year it looked like this...

how will it look this time?
the rules say you must drink while riding your bike. the winner takes all the hard worked Shekels of the other racers. then you eat meat at 08:30 in the morning.

what could ever best this?

as sick as a dog...

i've been off the bike since friday. caughing, sneezing and dripping... i'll have to pass on the training camp, and hope i'll be fine comes weekend with its pirate SS race.
tonight wer'e going out for a beer with some friends, to celebrate my 29th b-day, and tomorrow my parents are back from 6 weeks in new-zealand.
i need to work on my superfly, and get it ready and shiny for saturday. let's go racing !!

another weekend is in the books...

went to a big bike event on friday- the "golden ring". (beats a "golden shower", if you ask me...). it was a 90 km road ride around the sea of galilee, with a huge climb to spice the trip up a little. i felt a little weak, and my legs were hurting like a mother f%$*&er, but it was a great day out in the open.

the weather was awesome, and the air was clean. but i felt like somthing was coming... by the afternoon i felt ill. so now i'm here, caughing with a running nose (or is it a biking nose..?).

nevermind, i have a big week coming.

(this guy obviously had a few too many beers).

on tuesday its my B-day. i'll be 29.

on wednesday i'm out for a 3 day training camp with the CCC squad.

and on saturday its the singlespeed "drink as much as you can" race, by peaty the pirate, volume 3. i will be a total wreck by the weekend, but i have to go out and defend my title...

new year resolutions...

(the pictures you see here were taken by the one and only- lior dayan...)
well....
i wish to be better at desk-job stuff, like filling paper-work on time, and paying the bills. you know, all the shity headache.

i want to ride in new places. it doesn't have to abroad (although that would be nice). it could also be right here, in israel- just in places i've only heard of, and have never had the time to go and explore them. oh, and i want to take moran and go ride our bikes in those places, too.

i wish to be a little more patient. a little more giving. a little better at fixing household problems. a little more vibrant. i wish to play the drums more often. i wish to visit my parents more often.

i wish to be a little faster. i wish to take a long vacation with my wife. yes... that would be nice.

i wish you all a very good year.

desert trip...

with the spirit of the new year in our hearts, Michal, Uri, Moran and I went down south for an off road vacation, that has absolutely nothing to do with biking. it was the perfect 4x4 trip.
a late friday drive into the night, a poike pot dinner in the fire... life's good.

it was not an extreme kind of vacation, just two couples, hanging out in the desert, talking, driving, enjoying each other's company.

a look at Ramon crater from the south east corner. it was only a few days after the desert had been washed with floods, and the soil was hard packed, and not dusty at all. the air was clean and fresh. the roads await...

my babe. mmm...

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.