Ride Report - Sat. Feb.25, 2017 - Be'eri -  By Michal

Only 9 Cyclenixers pitched up on this heavenly morning. It was definitely heavenly as the heavens decided to descend upon us. No one could miss the mist (or the puns) smothering the horizon. In fact it was even visible on the hair of my arms. The temperature was low but my optimism of the sun coming up wasn't far from an Annie song away.

We haven't been such a small group in quite some time. I'm not sure if it was because of previous experiences from this area, the hours' drive or Yom hamishpacha celebrations but it made the ride smoother in the singles.

I was warned that many cyclenixers do not like the Be'eri ride because of its technicality and the massive amount of riders during this season. I made sure that Anat, my friend and leader for the day, knew exactly what we want and don't want out of this ride. She assured me that we will enjoy a nice tranquil ride around the area and will not encounter the masses or technical parts.

After a short introduction we headed off into the mist...

The kalaniot (Anemone coronaria) which are the main reason to come to Be'eri this time of year, were all closed and waiting for the warm sun, just like us on our bikes. Unlike the flowers we couldn't wait and had to ride on hoping the cycling will warm us up.

Ingride had to ride without her glasses since she couldn't see through them with them misting up. On the other hand she couldn't see much without them so it was a lose-lose situation... especially for David who had to hear about his promises of a sunny day.

The route was described as a mish mash of the area and indeed was so. We did parts of different singles, stopped for many photos, visited a few historical sites and heard explanations. It seemed that the history knowledge of the members of the group was quite extensive. I think it is because for some of the members it isn't necessarily history but memory lane... we discovered that Dinas uncle was a major in the Australian New Zealand army corps (Anzac). We visited the monument and got to see the view of Gaza for those who could figure out which way to look.

The sun by this time had come out to defrost us all. The flowers opened up welcoming us, Ingride had her glasses on and the day was just perfect.

The ride was exactly what we had ordered and Anat delivered 100%.

The cyclenixers who were hesitant about riding Be'eri got to create a good memory for next year when Be'eri is suggested.

At the end the day indeed was heavenly with no puns intended! We will definitely be going back to Be'eri and also will be in touch with Anat to lead us again since she did such an amazing job and seemed to tolerate us doing so.

We rode 22.5 kilometers of our mish mash and afterwards most went home but David, Ingride, Ted and Dina had a double date at the entrance to Ashdod

Ride Report - Sat. Feb.18, 2017 - Local Ride -  By Michal

17 riders pitched up on this blessed morn to pedal around the Sharon area. John's presence and shenanigans were missed so Yoavi reinforced the juvenile department, but unlike John, Yoavi attracts positive attention. It was nice to see Ted, Dina and Ilan who seem to have been MIA lately. The route that David had in plan was with full intentions to avoid the mud left from this week's rain. So we headed off up Ahuza towards Herzelia with intentions of a marina ride.
The temperature at the beginning of the ride was 8 degrees and we were all warmly dressed. As the time and kilometers went by our heart rate and the temperature climbed.
the layers started to come off with the regular stripping jokes. The route surprisingly included more off road than I expected but we love the fields so there were no complaints. We encountered very little mud and though it seemed to be quite a threat to the rest of the ride it turned out to be nothing serious.
As we continued, those without mud guards, enjoyed the mud ricocheting to their faces.
In my attempts to help Yoavi keep his strength and in avoidance of a puddle he fell off his bike. He survived to tell the story and sucked up the pain though he was a bit startled. He continued like the champ he is!
We covered 28 kilometers of the sunny warm Sharon area and dined at Arcaffe for a change where john joined us.

Ride Report - Sat. Feb. 11, 2017 - A local break -  By Francis

20-something of us set off for what became quite a long ride on a lovely sunny winter's day.
We covered lots of ground without too much mud and even got to see the sea.
As we warmed up, clothes came off - but we heeded the words of Joe Cocker... you can keep your hat on...
We made sure to keep on the cycle path through the reserve and came back via the slow uphill at Bnei Zion. Along the way the usually quiet road was very busy with families enjoying the sunshine and red dots of the kalaniot.
Some made their way home while others stopped for refueling at Landwer... safe trip home to Michael - enjoy being with the family. Oh, only one fall and no punctures.... this and the sun and nature... what more can you ask for?

Ride Report - Sat. Feb. 4, 2017 - Gvaram -  By Michal

After two weeks of trying to go on an away ride we finally succeeded!
The destination was changed to the south. The weather report was unstable at first but it all worked out in the end.
I remembered the area being very cold in the winter mornings from previous rides at Gvaram so reluctantly i took a jacket... Lucky my memory was stronger than my dislike of jackets!
It was cold at the start point, so cold that David almost started the ride in his sweat pants, till Ingride pointed out his fashion choice for the day.
After David stripped down we started our ride.
An optimistic 24 people showed up for the easy and simple singles Gvaram has to offer. I don't know if it is because of the lovely easy route or the terrible stay at home weather from the previous couple of weeks but either way we were a nice big group.
This ride was not free of mishaps... Anna fell of her bike but Anna being Anna she always gets up brushes off the dust and continues as all is good.
Ronen, Yossi's son had a nice warm welcoming with the need to inflate his tires a couple times.
The weather turned to the better with a nice warm spring day. The sun was shining and warming us up with a sweet 20 degrees, the blooming flowers are just starting to gracefully color up the south and the terrain was nice and tight after the recent rains.
A certain part of the route was closed due to KKL's projects of fixing the place up leaving us to take the more technical way. Whoever new how to take it on did... the others chose the safer way out and walked a few meters.
The ride, route, scenery, weather and company were at their finest!
All in all we did about 16 km's out of the 20 km's that were planned but no one really noticed or cared just like at the beginning of the ride when David was still in his sweats...

Ride Report - Sat. Jan 28, 2017 - The sea was rough that day my friends... -  By David (Photos by Raphi)

"One picture is worth a thousand words"
Raphi's photos tell the whole story
KOL HAKAVOD to the four intrepid riders (Raphi, Uri, Haim and Arik) who braved the wind, the cold and the wet!

Ride Report - Sat. Jan. 21, 2017 - Home Patch ride -  By Michal

I phoned David and quickly hung up. He phoned me back and quoted my regular mantra that he is used to hearing on Saturday mornings: "you woke up late and are running late"
I told him that that is what I wanted to say but hung up since I realized it is only 7:09 and not 7:20 so I will make it early. Laughingly I was wished that my orientation will improve throughout the day.
After cancelling the away ride due to the forecast we were hoping that a local ride will be the solution to getting home dry. Surprisingly it started drizzling before we even left the parking lot!
We headed out of Raanana into the fields towards bazra and harutzim cycling north to tel Yitzhak. The drizzle stopped right at the beginning of the ride and to my surprise so did the inauguration discussions. It seems like we had more interesting things to talk about than American politics.
Dafna and Keren joined us for the first time. We hope to see them more often on future rides. Ted is back on the saddle since his knee has been injured and seems to be that cycling is the best medicine. We succeeded in dodging the mud by walking carefully around it and feeling grateful that we will actually arrive home dry and clean. The puddle on the other hand had other intentions for us. With no way around it we had to ride through it and get our feet a bit wet.
As if I am not challenged enough it seems that Michael is amused with challenging me by trying to get me to check my limits and coordination on the bike. While I just almost managed to go over the hill he with perfect instincts caught my bike to stop me from falling.
Though I have discovered that I now can officially ride with no hands… hopefully I will keep all my teeth in place and collarbones in one piece with this new discovery.
As usual David was out numbered when the decision whether to take the faster road way or the longer off road way back to Landwer. The majority tipped the scale to a decision that really makes no difference at the end of the ride since in any case we get to our trusty coffee at Landwers.
We rode about 30 kilometers and got to enjoy a great fun ride with great company.

Ride Report - Sat. Jan. 14, 2017 - Home Patch Rainy Ride -  By Michal

16 optimists pitched up to ride this morning. With rainfalls predicted after 11:00 am everyone was hopeful to enjoy a nice dry ride and make it home before the clouds release their showers. All winter geared up, we headed towards har hazevel.
The majority decided to take on the challenge and climb the mountain! Thanks to the previous rains the terrain was nice and solid making the climb relatively easier than usual.
At the top of the mountain we were all in awe from the amazing 360 degree view of the Sharon area. We caught our breath took a group photo and headed back down to the rest of the group waiting for our return. It definitely was not yet 11:00 am, more like 8:00 am... and the heaven opened its taps on us!
Now riding with a constant drizzle keeping us just moist enough to question the rest of the ride. In spite of the rain we headed north hoping it will stop eventually. It didn't seem like the drizzling had any intention on giving up so at some point when the question of the rest of our route was raised we (myself leading the mutiny) chickened out and decided that Landwer is better sooner than later!
Just after the decision was made and we started on our journey back the drizzling stopped.

Arriving at the famous stop before turning towards bnei zion David and Arik made a bet about the off road route being muddy or not. David insisting that it is rideable and Arik insisting the opposite, the group split up as usual at this spot and waited to see who would take the pot.
our mighty leader as usual was right! besides a little patch that was easily detourable all grounds were tight and perfect to ride.
I have to mention that during this ride both David and Ingride managed to display the force that is gravity! Ingride even proved the laws of physics twice! Sadly there is no photographical evidence to these fine moments.
Despite cutting our ride short we managed to cover 22 kms and reached cosy Landwer all deserving a warm cup of java!

Ride Report - Jan. 7, 2017 - Elishe-mud Ride -  By John

14 of us met at the entrance to Elishema knowing that perhaps there might be a bit on mud en route, but what we encountered, no one expected!! Our leader's (David's) intention was to ride to the Nachshonim Forest and back, but it seems that that was just not to be! Less than 10 kms into the ride after encountering not just a wee bit of mud, two of our riders' bikes suffered broken derailleurs at almost the same time. After a long delay, David succeeded in doing a temporary repair job on Sami's bike to enable him to ride back to the starting point and Rafi did likewise for Yael. Full marks to both David and Rafi on jobs well done. Repairs are easy when you know what you’re doing! Cyclenix is lucky to have two "experts" amongst our members.

After they had set off back to the starting point our leader wisely decided that to continue on the intended route was not wise as we'd lost a fair amount of time, BUT, for some reason or other I think David decided to punish the remaining riders because the altered route that he led us on was even muddier than the first 8 or so kilometres. The photos tell the story!

Eventually we got back to the cars a little dirtier than when we had started. In fact we didn't go for breakfast because there was some doubt that any place would let us in in our rather muddy state!!! I can't speak for the others, but after I'd cleaned my bike it must have weight a kilo less than at the finish.

Despite the mud, I think everyone enjoyed the experience and the company. This was definitely the muddiest ride that I have ever been on!

See you next week and here's hoping for a less muddy ride.

Ride Report - Sat. Dec. 31, 2016 - רכיבה בסוף שנה -  By אריק לוין

Ride Report - Sat. Dec. 24, 2016 - Home Patch Ride Report -  By John

Number of Participants: 14
Weather: Cold, but no rain and little wind
Ground conditions: Very muddy in parts but, none of those horrible "sand traps".

First let me say that today the group was like a headless and tailless animal. Our leader David and our sweep Ted were not with us, Ted because of a knee injury!!! We wish him a speedy recovery. Hopefully he will soon be back in the saddle.

We rode along an oft ridden route with only one incident... Arik's back wheel suffered a puncture which took forever to repair. The first repair wasn't successful and a second change of inner tube was necessary!!! Apart from that all went well. Everyone had a good time and didn't overheat. As we often do, we finished off at one of our favourite "watering holes" where we socialized, satisfied our thirsts and hunger and then headed for home. Another 29 + kms of good exercise and fun under our belts.

See you this coming Saturday, the last ride of the year (weather permitting).