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. 
so... its five days to D day. i'm not that excited just yet, but i know i will be. seeing moran wearing her wedding dress and all... my best friend, lior, is flying in from LA, in order to be my best man at the wedding.
yom kipur went well, and we managed to squeeze a few rides. we even rode all the way to Haifa, and moran went up to the city through the Freud climb. the girl got strong legs and will....
so, the yesterday i embarked on an epic road ride, which i had wanted to last around 8 hours. i rode up beit oren, down nesher, through tivon, ramat ishai, and through afula. i rode down to the jordan valley, and than up the gilboa mountains. came back through afula and ended up cramping like hell in yokne'am. moran had to pick me up. still, i managed around 170 km. got to buy some isotonic drinks... i was out of salt in my body. well...
as this is yom kipur evening, i thought it would be best to ask for the forgiveness of every person whom might have been offended by me. sorry, it was not intentional...
Uri and Michal got married on friday, and their wedding was one of the best i've ever attended. music, friends, food... it had it all.
the days of scorhing heat are over. fall is here.
one can actually wake up at 9 AM and ride till noon. which exactly what i plan on doing in the next 2 months. a 400 km race means more than 20 hours of riding, and being able to sit on the thinly padded seat is a built in requirement.
i'm about to get my new bike... an 09' gary fisher superfly. i think i'm about to put it through my regular "pimp my ride" treatment, though, as i find it a little heavier than i want.
tantan is in his regular mode. sound asleep.
coming back from vacation is proving harder than i thought, but there's no escape from the daily grind. so here i am, writing bike tests for the mag, getting ready for the afternoon ride...
and speaking of rides, i must put on some more hours. last week i rode 3 hours all in all... on the other hand, i got married, and had a wonderful vacation with my babe. you gotta live a little, don't you?
hummer sucks.
that's it. wer'e married !!! ofcourse its official now, but it will be even more official after the wedding in israel, infront of all our friends and family. still, putting the ring on moran's finger was a very exciting moment.
we spent the remaining days on the island traveling around in the mountains, exploring the beaches and resting. it was an awesome vacation.
knowing that moran is my wife, and that she's the woman i'm going to spend my life with makes me the happiest man on earth. this girl makes me smile.
i mean, look at her...
moran and i are packed, and on tuesday morning wer'e off to Cyprus to get married, and have a little vacation while wer'e there. this is all so exciting. i'll be a married man in two day's time !!!
yes. next post will be a married man's post. hmmm. 
i have not raced in a while, and as a part of preparing for the 400 km race, i want to log on some hard long hours in tha saddle. so i'm using my gary fisher rig, 29er singlespeed as the race bike for tomorrow's 60 km marathon race. i'll ride back home from the race in order to complete at least 100 km...
anyway, moran and i are getting all our errands done, so we'll have the time to really get excited before the big day, without all the running around. i think we work extremely well together. good, since wer'e about to get married, you know.
i thought this was funny...
the preparations for the 400 km race started this saturday, with a 165 km ride aboard the gary fisher superfly i have as a test bike for the mag. it was an awesome ride, which started at 05:30 in the morning, and ended at 13:30 in the afternoon.
i think it was about 20 km too long... i finished it riding on fumes. the summer heat is killing me.
'decided to ride 2 long rides every week- saturday and tuesday, and in between- easy rides, with some intervals. you know, whatever the road brings. 
moran and i did some wedding shopping in tel aviv. together with my sister, maya, we hit the designer shops, and tried out some clothing for the groom, yours truly. needless to say, it was a tiring experience.
this is a red haired girl trying to convince me to buy a full suit. the whole shabbang. it was an unfruitful attempt. eventually, i did find the perfect wedding clothing. so no worries- i'll be dressed.
this is how most tel avivians look. they walk around with their helmets on, with no bike nor motorbike in sight. they're weird.
the 400 km race training is not working according to plan (if there ever was one...), but i truly think that a 20 hour race is mostly in your head, rather than in your legs. so, my legs are not there, but my mind is healty. or sick- depending on your point of view.
friday morning, 04:30 AM, and i'm on my way up north. 06:45, and we're on our way, climbing mt.hermon. we were riding rather easily, so the 100 km ride went very smooth... the weather was alright in the early morning, but got worse by noon time, when we rode down the mountain, greeting us with 35 degrees in the valley. all in all- a great ride, with great people.
and then- it was bachelor party time. Itay is getting married in two weeks, so all of our friends (male friends, of course...) gathered up north, slept on a river bank, ate meat like there was no tomorrow (and there was), and then, the next morning we ate some more.
oh, and we drank. and farted. yep, a hard weekend for my stomach.
this whole weekly method of counting the days is very confusing. riding your bike for a living won't leave you time for real vacations, so the weekend is actually a work day. yet, it doesn't ever feel like a job. cool, eh?
this weekend i'm off to my friend's Itay bachelor party, up north. so, i'm taking my road bike with me, and i intend to climb the Hermon mountain. if i feel right, i might even climb it twice. who knows?
this is a pic from the last time i was there... that time i was with the singlespeed gang. it was the day after i met moran for the first time...
i think i really like cooking. ever since i moved in with moran, i've been working on my cooking skills. its all still very simple, ofcourse, but i think moran sees my inner chef... that's why she bought me this David's cooking apron. i use it all the time.
the 400 km race date was published yesterday. november 13. its a friday. which makes it friday the 13th... spookey.
and... i got a new bike for a magazine test. its a gary fisher superfly. and it does just that... it flies.
these past two weeks were spent on the single speed. every ride i did was aboard my gary fisher rig 29er single speed, and i love this bike. you know, i think 29ers are about to take over the biking world, regardless of how tall (or short...) you are.
yesterday i had a blast, riding with Keren, after a long long time. the girl kicks ass.
this weekend is a big question mark, biking wise. team CCC is heading up north for a big road ride... but i'm all into my singlespeed offroad adventures. what will it be? 
my past few days were spent out of the house, in a kids training camp, while moran was sick at home. with all the media talking about the crazy flu going around, maybe it was for the best, being out of the house... at least moran is feeling better now.
the viscious israeli sun is hitting hard this summer, and no rider can escape the aweful consequences of being bi-coloured. my legs are especially heinous these days. no, really, kids are pointing at me and cry whenever i go to the beach. i think i will never ever be able to get the colours right again. a small price to pay, i say, in order to keep doing what i like best. yep.
the weekend couldn't come sooner. it's been a crazy week, ranging from personal rides to training rides to wedding plans and meetings and magazine work. being an adult is hard. night time sleep is for the weak.
every friday morning moran and i leave the house at sunrise, and go ride with the women's group that i coach. these girls kick ass !!
this sunday i'm off to a kids training camp in Neve Shalom. its a three day fun ride, and the kids love being away from home, living, talking and breathing mountain bikes. 
the news is all about the awful things that happen around us, that its sometimes hard to see the beautiful world we live in. moran and i do not have a TV in our house. that makes it so much easier noticing the good things... 
and there are so many...
