A large group of 17 started the ride by heading out on the familiar route northwards to the industrial area and on through the orange groves of Batzra and Bnei Tzion. It was round about here that the first event of the day happened when Frances had the metal part holding her back derailer in place completely snap off (apparently this is why it is there!) Once again, a resourceful David came to the rescue with help from Uri ,he supplied the spare part, while a group of us watched closely. No one was happier than Frances who had been saved a long walk home!
We continued on through the groves on a well ridden route alongside the dried out river bed of Poleg river and up the hill to the railway bridge by Tel Itzhak.
From here we were led by Dennis on a detour heading towards moshav Bet Yoshua and onto the pedestrian bridge crossing the railway lines. From here we continued back onto our familiar route through moshav Udim and through the nature reserve. It was about here that coffee came up in the conversation and by consensus agreed that a coffee stop at Buono was in order. The second and "special" event of the day was celebrating John's birthday. A delicious cake was ordered (as well as other things) and we all tucked in after a round of "happy birthday" to the birthday boy - wishing you many more John! We all struggled to get on our bikes again and head off over the bridge and on to the way home except for Ingrid who was seen zooming off with a cloud of smoke behind her. Unfortunately, the third event of the day occurred when we found Ingrid and her bike on the ground, Ingrid with a few scrapes and scratches which were soon washed off and cleaned up. Sasha helpfully had plaster spray to cover the scrapes.
Moving along and homewards it was around Rishpon that the fourth event happened, when an insect flew into Uri's eye causing him to stop to remove it. We waited until he was able to continue and carried on towards the finish post of another wonderful ride with great people company.
18 of us set out from Poleg on a circular route with the midpoint around the turtles viewpoint at Nahal Alexander. We headed off north through the industrial area of Netanya under cloudy skies. Luckily for us, the clouds offered protection for quite a while before we were under the burning sun. We cycled around 38 km with our route taking us on paved roads, sandy paths and a few steep uphills. The compensation was the sight of the blue blue sea along the Netanya promenade.
We passed through some moshavim where we saw some interesting, grandiose architecture and those that had the inclination, feasted on mulberries. We went through, amongst others, Ma'abarot, Kfar Vitkin and Beit Herut. These were established around the 1920's and 30's and still have some of the lovely old stone buildings.
Some of the highlights: Stuart's puncture; (he uses tubeless tyres!) eating ice cream; some steep uphills; a bit of sand; cycling along the promenade.
Due to miscommunication, we didn't have a refueling stop - but those lucky enough, did get a cup of coffee at the gas station in Poleg.
Some trivia: what do you call a group of turtles? A bale/dole/nest of turtles. Now who knew that??
David, our regular leader has a nose (see the photos) for finding something new, even on our well-worn regular Home Patch Rides. Today, he took us to a new view site on the cliffs of Arsuf . A big "Thank you" to Avraham who had told David that the entry to Arsuf had been enabled by a court order allowing entry to the public, which, until now, public had been prevented by the residents of Arsuf. And something else (rarely seen) happened on the way to the new view site. David accidentally parted company with his bike, but not in the conventional manner! He dismounted over the handlebars and instead of using his feet as the landing gear he used his nose!!!! Fortunately it was wasn't too heavy a landing and little damage was caused. Only two other "exciting" things happened during the ride. Whilst we were waiting for our food and drinks to arrive (it took a long time!) A Lamborghini and a Ferrari (both red of course) made a noisy entrance to the parking area and were greeted with many oohs and ahs and photographers (including me) and towards the end of the ride we thought we had lost Uri and Andy. But alls well that ends well and when we did eventually make contact with them they were well ahead of the group and safe and sound. By the way, the Lamborghini which looked brand new was actually 31 years old!!!
All in all, we covered some 32 kilometres in perfect riding conditions and perfect company. A good time was had by all.
Remember, ride with Cyclenix once a week, and ensure that you're always at your peak.
Today was the Annual Wheels of Hope Ride in the Galil and Cyclenix was well represented there. A local impromptu Home Patch Ride took place. Four of us (Anna, Barbara, Hylton and yours truly) met at the usual meeting place half an hour later than usual and set of in perfect cycling weather. The route was a familiar one. En route we managed to ride through a rather thorny patch and all four of us sustained some good scratches. {See the photo}.
A little later,on the approach to Yaqum, Barbara rode over a piece of concrete with a length of reinforcing steel in the shape of a hook protruding from it. The steel got tangled with her wheel bring her bike to a sudden stop, but, Barbara carried on and took a hard fall. Fortunately she wasn't badly injured and we continued on to Cafe Buono (which we haven't visited for ages). There we stopped for "breakfast".
The fast service and food were excellent. Perhaps we should consider making this one of our "watering holes" on future rides!
Having satisfied our thirst and hunger we headed home to Ra'anana. It was a great ride enjoyed by all four of us despite the scratches and Barbaras' fall.
We met at Yad Labanim to head northwards with the idea of splitting up with some riding to Tzomet Dror to go to Ronnie Feinberg's annual memorial and the rest returning home.
Welcome to Danna - we hope to see more of you.
Up to the point of the split, we zoomed along in the somewhat misty air, enjoying the cool morning. At the railway crossing near Rishpon, the rail guards were down and a siren was sounding. But we darted accross, before the invisible train came by. There was actually a group working further up the line, so it wasn't entirely a phantom.
We encountered some big puddles further along the line, where some of us got our feet wet and muddy - Ingride did not disappoint by getting the most wet... We continued until we got to the point of the split. Six of us headed off along the road southwards towards Dror. We made it with one minute to spare .... or so we thought! Since we hadn't told anyone we were coming, we missed the ceremony - but did see all the roadies and enjoyed some refreshments. Hilliard made a short speech - see the text below.
We then headed home - part along the new road that is being built and then we wandered in the pardessim close to the Sharon Prison. Ingride headed off, thinking we were all behind her. But we weren't - so while David went off to find her, the rest of us enjoyed the grapefruit and shade on offer. Eventually we set off again and this time found some nice tracks that took us past the prison. As we approached the perimeter some dogs started barking and the sirens went off. Soon we spotted the security car coming along --- so, I thought: Lunch in the prison. Well, only a n nu nuuuu to us and off we went again and arrived home safely.
The second group had a good ride, off the familiar routes and also arrived home safely. An eventful 30km in fine weather.
Hilliards speech:
RONNIE
ITS COME TO THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN
ITS NOW 4 YEARS SINCE YOU HAVE GONE
AND STILL YOU REMAIN SO VIVIDLY IN OUR MEMORIES
THERE IS NO RIDE THAT GOES BY THAT WE DO NOT THINK OF YOU
ESPECIALLY WHEN SOMEONE PASSES US WITHOUT SAYING BOKER TOV
YOU WERE ALWAYS THE ONE TO GREET EVERY CYCLIST PASSING BY
YOU WERE ALWAYS VERY AWARE OF COURTESY AND ETIQUETTE IN RIDING WITHIN A GROUP AND MANY OF US CAN BE THANKFUL FOR HAVING RIDDEN WITH YOU
I STILL MISS OUR DAILY CONVERSATIONS
NORMAN AND I STILL TURN OUR HEADS DURING OUR RIDES EXPECTING TO SEE YOU AT OUR SIDE OR OF COURSE WAY AHEAD IN THE DISTANCE WITH THE A GROUP
ANOTHER YEAR HAS PASSED NORMAN MARTIN AND I HAVE BECOME GRANDFATHERS
AND YOU RONNIE WILL ALWAYS REMAIN 53 YEARS OLD
WE MISS NOT BEING ABLE TO SHARE IN ALL THE MILESTONES OF OUR LIVES
RONNIE REST WELL MY MATE AND HOPE THAT YOU ARE ORGANIZING SOME GOOD RIDES UP THERE
[sic]
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Today's ride was advertised as starting at Moshav Elishema down to the Nachshonim Forest returning via Einat, a distance of around 40 km on our usual route. However for various reasons (not the least the weather) we didn't get to Nachshonim. The official IMS forecast for today was "sharav conditions over most of the Country" with temperatures in our area of around 35 degrees - accurate indeed added to which a humidity factor of around 15%! So the 16 of us had to be content with 31 km down to Einat (a well earned refreshment stop). As compensation a strong easterly blew us almost all the way back to Elishema.
In parenthesis, last week's ride was similarly cut short by the weather - not by a sharav but by a storm - dramatic-black skies, torrential rain, hail, thunder and lightning, and reminded me of a bit of Cyclenix history - a ride we did under similar storm conditions in 2005 in the Hadera Forest/Nahal Alexander. Eli Sat (author of the well known "Mountain Bike Day Trips") joined us on that ride and his account of his ride with the crazy Cyclenix-niks can be found on Shvoong's website at: http://www.shvoong.co.il/he-IL/198/1252/
Back to the present: However unfriendly the heat, our usual brand of Cyclenix Good Company prevailed - and all returned home none the worse for wear (and perhaps a little better prepared for lots of warmer weather ahead).
Thirteen hardy cyclists gathered to set off under threatening skies. Welcome to Einit, who will hopefully return and cycle on a calmer, sunnier day!
We set off northward, through Rishpon and onwards. The dramatic dark clouds seem to accentuate the colors around us. Mindful of the threatening clouds, we stuck close to home, debating every now and then when the appropriate moment will be to turn back. Well, after doing a loop and cycling towards Batzra, our minds were made up for us. Big fat rain drops started falling which meant that we split up, each one trying to beat the downpour.
Minutes before, we had a chorus of "Raindrops keep falling on my head" - but soon it was more than drops: the hail started pelting down - each little ball stinging like a needle and pinging off my bike. I had to stop every now and then to clean my glasses - couldn't see anything besides the water gushing at me in the road. I missed part of the group huddling in a bus shelter - but we all got home safely without mishap. Considering the weather, we did a good approximately 25 km. Frederic had some apricots - or so he says - so we wait with anticipation for next week......!
With apologies to Randy Newman, who wrote the lyrics to Rider in the Rain:
Got a bag on my back
Got a bike between my knees
And I'm goin' to Batzra
Pardon me, ya'll, if you please
They're Riders In The Rain
They're Riders In The Rain
And they're goin' to Batzra
They're Riders In The Rain
Perfect cycling weather and a turnout of 12. What a way to start the day!
First of all, a big welcome to Andy who joined us for the first time, and what's more, he came all the way from Ashqelon to meet us. Now that's what a call dedication! It was nice meeting you Andy, and we hope to say you often in the furture.
Our route took us through the Industrial area of Ra'anana, on to Bnei Tzion, Udim, Yaqum, Gaash, a stop at our usual; "watering hole", then passed Shefayim, Rishpon and back to Ra'anana. After our breakfast stop the group split up for different reasons, such as, folk dancing; having to get back to paint a room; had to be home early...etc, etc.
The last 5 of us left Gaash and headed for home only to find Frances and Merrill at the side of the road waiting for Frances' husband, Jules, to fetch her. Her chain had snapped!!! David to the rescue. Jules was phoned and sent home to continue with what he's been doing and in no time at all David gave us a lesson on how to fix a broken chain. Well done David!
On all, we covered 35 kms. One thing we noticed was that the sand was back much earlier than usual. Oy, what have we in store for us until next Winter.
Last but not least, "HAPPY 65th BIRTHDAY" to Israel.
The Dirty Dozen (aka The Good, the Bad and The Ugly)
Twelve of us gathered at Buy the Way and headed off towards the Carmel. It was supposed to be a really hot day - but you would not have thought so as we were taken on a magical mystery tour by David in the fog around Dalyiat HaCarmel. We parked below the Mukrakha (where Elijah faced off the prophets of Baal) and set off on paths that took us past small farms and lots of cows.
Our first breath-taking experience was the steep climb into Ussifiya - some were rendered breathless and walked part of the way, some slogged up, zig-zagging along while the few remaining flew up. Of course, all that goes up, must come down. So, we experienced our first downhill. This was also a challenge - lots of ditches and rocks and even Frederic opted to walk down one or two! This set the pattern for the rest of the ride: ups and downs and ups and downs. The star of the uphills has to go to Ingride who just kept going and going!
The school ma'am came out in me when a young fellow decided to relieve himself next to us ladies. We ticked him off (well, I did) by saying he should show respect to others and go behind a tree or into the public toilets which were right next to us. He did have the grace to apoligize...
The views were spectacular and the ride was challenging in places which are good ingredients to allow ourselves to stop off and have hummous, felafel and the like. We enjoyed around 22km of ups and downs in weather that was not חם מרגיל as predicted, in good company. Thanks to David for navigating us around the Carmel and up to the watering hole.
We were a group of 14 this Shabbat that met at our usual starting point.
A warm welcome back goes to Rafi, who returned with a 'new scar', the proof of his recent cycling injury. Merrill is still resting up her injuries and we wish her a speedy recovery and hope to see her back soon.
The route was discussed and David led us up Achuza and southwards into Givat Chen. I seem to recall quite a few steep inclines before we hit our first bout of sand and were all forced to walk our bikes. However, it wasn't long before we were all mounted again and off through the fields and quickly out over the bridge by Hod HaSharon. From here we rode through onto the path running along by the Yarkon River. A bumpy ride was traversed, with some sand here and there, but all in all a most enjoyable ride and a change from our usual home patch rides.
By the time we reached Ramat HaChayal, David was receiving reminders for that all important coffee break! We were promptly led to the local Aroma however a consensus was reached that we were too far from home and somewhere closer should be found. We headed on through Ramat HaChayal to Nave Sharett and once again out to the fields (and sand) heading towards Ramat HaSharon. Up over the bridge by the Tennis Center and out into Nave Magen we were led to a delightful coffee shop, (Asa for those who wish to return another time) where the service was pleasant and quick and the waiters most friendly. From here, fully refreshed, we once again got on our bikes and rode through the back streets of Ramat HaSharon alongside the IMI grounds and along the sandy route back through (Young) Herzliya and back home to Raanana.
Once again, a lovely ride of around 34 km's was enjoyed in wonderful company and pleasant weather.
Pesach - no planned ride April 20, 2019
There will be no planned ride today as it's Pesach.:
To All Cyclenix Members Friday April 13, 2018
An Important Message:
To all Cyclenix members
Throughout the years that Cyclenix has been riding together, the group has always been organized by the same members. W...
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Over time was involved in a variety of sports :
The Cyclenix Group My Away-Away biking history:
My bikes history:
My Happy hobby: |
If you have any questions or want to get in touch for any reason, feel free to get in touch with David or John:
Email: jcandy@inter.net.il
David: 054-474-1424
John: 050-942-2788
New riders always welcome to join us.
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