Ride Report – Sat. Nov. 3, 2018 – Kfar Sava Ride –  By Talia S.

Today 23 of us congregated at 7:30am in the parking lot of the Herzog High School in Kfar Saba, for a ride planned by Arye.

We set out along Ben Yehuda Street, turning left at the Derech Ha’Poel junction onto Zamir Street. We then rode out into the fields through Derech Ha’Movil Ha’Artzi, or National Carrier path, so called because underneath this unassuming dirt road runs the biggest water pipe in the country, responsible for channeling water from the Sea of Galilee to the center of Israel.

Continuing through the fields along Highway 5503, we bypassed Kibbutz Nir Eliyahu and crossed Highway 5504 next to the Camille Restaurant (where we didn’t stop). We cycled by some fascinating excavations recently discovered during construction work for a railway line, and after that, passed the domed tomb of Shimon Ben Ya’akov. We rode through Kibbutz Eyal and along the southern edge of Tzur Yigal, coming across a plaque among the trees called ‘Meeting Place of Friends’, erected in memory of two young friends from Tzur Yigal. We made a U-turn around Kochav Yair and returned on our tracks in a south-westerly direction adjacent to Highway 6, until we had again reached Nir Eliyahu and Kfar Saba.

The ride was interesting from a historical point of view, and we stopped to inspect the various relics. It was also quite challenging, with a few tough up-hills, one very steep down-hill, and some rocky patches. There was one puncture (mine), a negligible amount of sand, two very unfriendly dogs, and lots of chatting and laughing. Arye did a great job of taking the lead for the first time, with backup from Shaike who made sure that the front of the group didn’t actually succeed in shaking off the back!

To summarize, it was a great ride of 33 kilometers, in a varied and unfamiliar environment, with the usual good company.