On a wing and a prayer...
...almost there.
My first glimpse of Rafi and Michele in their Jerusalem apartment.
Setting the table for Shabbat dinner...
...with musical accompaniment by Jimmy Rosenbloom.
The former Beit Bernstein, where I stayed the first time, in 1992...
...and the old SuperSol across the street!
I figured I'd just follow these nuns all the way to the Old City.
Sure enough.
The Kotel (Western Wall) and the Dome of the Rock atop the Temple Mount.
Regarding #4 -- Shammai argued it would only be permissible to walk through the metal detector on Shabbat if one did so backwards...but, of course, he lost out.
The Kotel (Western Wall).
As I arrived, so did some visiting south Asian dignitary...
Apparently, the one TV crew from his home country came to cover it...
A rabbi took him to the Wall...
...and then gave him a book. Seriously, does anyone know who this is? No one I asked knew, and I could find nothing about it in any of the Israeli media...
Written prayers tucked into the Wall.
Two seconds after I took this, I sneezed...the men all stopped praying to bless me. Seriously.
Inside the new (to me) Davidson Center.
View across the Jerusalem archaeological park of Al Aqsa and the Mt. of Olives.
Temple-era dwellings uncovered.
I love how anything, if it's old enough, can be considered a worthy historical artifact...
Stones from the Temple walls where they have theoretically rested since Roman soldiers threw them down 1,937 years ago.
Robinson's Arch, named for the guy who discovered what was once part of this massive staircase leading to the Temple Mount.
Yemin Moshe, first modern community built outside the Old City walls in the late 1800s.
David's Citadel.
Ben Yehuda Street.
Uh...yum.
Uh...yum again.
During the period between Independence Day and Jerusalem Day, flags were everywhere.
Michele and Rafi at home.
Sunset from the Weber-Cohen window...
A local in the Judean Desert.
Heading north on a day trip along the Jordanian border.
Looking across the Jordan River Valley to a Jordanian army post. Everything is pretty darn close together around here.
The Kineret (Sea of Galilee).
The Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus gave his sermon on the...uh...mount.
The JNF forester -- I'm forgetting his name -- explains how last summer's katyushas wiped out thousands of acres of Israel's northern forests...
In some places, the fires rolled up the hills and everything was destroyed.
All from this little piece of sh...rapnel.
Tanya, our tour guide for the day. She spoke perfect Hebrew, but her New Zealand English was sometimes a challenge to understand...
Passing olive groves...
Lunch involved many roasted meats. Nice.
Our security guard Itzik pretty much seemed tired and hungover all day and wore a T-shirt that read "DO HESITATE." Hmmm...
No bikes???
Lake Agmon is one of the most congested intersections of bird migration routes in the world: "500 million birds aren't wrong! And what about you?"
Bird-watching from the bus.
Bird watching outside the bus.
A big rodent.
Looking out toward the Golan Heights.
Water buffalo. I think.
Birds.
More bird watching.
Seriously. Enough with the bird watching.
Ah, now I see. It's kinda cool.
Looking down on Lake Agmon; the whole lake and agricultural area was created from a tiny swamp.
Looking up toward the northern border; the hills on the left are Lebanon.
The green in the foreground is still Israel; the brown beyond is Lebanon.
A U.N. outpost on the Lebanese side built after last summer's war. My telephoto lens wasn't strong enough, or you would be able to see them actually sitting on their a**es.
Sunset as we drove back south.
Dinner with the KC riders at Eucalyptus in Jerusalem.
Amy, Rafi, and Michele.
Chef Basson directs Rafi to reveal the chicken-rice specialty dish thing. I forget what it was called, but it tasted good.
Baby Adi.
Honey-halvah specialty dessert thing. Uh...I forget what it was called, but it tasted good.
Impromptu chapel at the Regency Hotel.
Replacing the uncomfortable seat on the rental bike with the uncomfortable seat I bought and schlepped 7,000 miles.
Jimmy, Amy, and Danny inspecting their sweet rides.
The windmill at Yemin Moshe.
Fun with Ahmadinejad! They LOVE him here!
Yoel Solomon Street.
Amy trying on the sparkly wraparound dress that daughter Tamar requested she buy for her.
Student protest against higher tuition.
Test ride around the Hebrew University campus. The student tuition strike meant we had the place to ourselves...
A view of the security barrier (one of the few solid concrete sections).
The Sonnenscheins and their tandem.
View of the Old City from Mt. Scopus.
Bike, with Dome.
Looking back at the Regency Hotel.
First night briefing.
Yes, only in Israel. Well, I think I've seen animals in other countries, too.
Getting ready for Day One.
Amy and Michele. No idea about the dork in the middle.
Tfilat Haderech (the traveler's prayer) read in English...
...Arabic...
...and Hebrew.
And then, instead of a starter's pistol, the shofar.
Our jerseys were kinda sweet. Many people asked to buy their own.
Dropping below sea level in the Judean Desert on the way to the Dead Sea.
Early morning tank traffic.
Off into the wilderness.
The Dead Sea always on the left.
Leaving the West Bank.
Nancy, the Ride Director.
The Ahava factory (and outlet store).
Stopping at Ein Gedi.
With Cheryl. So happy.
So happy.
Okay. Enough.
The view behind me is much cooler than this picture reveals (i.e., the Dead Sea and the mountains beyond -- not the Orthodox tourists).
Approaching Masada.
Rest stop, in the shadow of Masada.
Our escort, coming to tell us to get a move on.
Our hotel at Neve Zohar...the destination at the end of Day One.
Not such a bad place to finish the day.
Rafi and Michele at the start of Day Two, which was entirely uphill. But such is the case when starting from the lowest point on Earth.
With Zvi, back above sea level...and only another 1,000 feet up to go...!
Dan, Rafi, me, Michele, Zvi.
The rest stop at the top of the first, 13-mile hill.
Hazon director Nigel Savage.
On to the Negev...
It was a little unsettling to hear an explosion in Israel, but it was just dynamiting for chemicals or minerals or something. Whatever it was, it reeked.
Shortly thereafter...my knee gave out. But not before I made it up the hills!
If you need to get off the road, might I suggest the left side?
Yoni, Rafi, and Michele arriving at Sde Boker.
Grave site of Paula and David Ben-Gurion.
Camel.
Careful! He bite.
Passing by an ancient Nabitean city on what was once the Spice Route.
Jimmy. Chillin'.
One of our rest stops was right next to Israel's largest maximum security prison. Nice.
I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to be taking a picture of it.
Finishing Day Three, bad knee and all.
And what better way to fight dehydration than with beer.
At Mitzpe Ramon.
A "mahktesh" is often called a crater, but it's really a mountain that has eroded internally and collapsed in on itself.
Havdalah.
Havdalah dog.
Zvi's wife, Shula, selling her ceramics.
Chillin' at the hotel bar with a little Shhhprite.
Official photographer Ilana waiting to take our group picture.
Shirlee and Abra.
Showing off the knee brace.
The KC team (and half of my head).
The Israeli lead riders.
Rabbi Leon and Rafi.
Mia, before we descend into the crater...er, makhtesh.
By Day Four, privacy wasn't really an issue.
Rolling out of the...crater thing.
Extra sunscreen.
Michele with 'do rag.
Stretching and kvetching.
Someone did the entire ride on this kick bike.
This hill was so much worse than it looks.
Using drums to "encourage" us.
Oasis rest stop.
Rest stop dog.
You know what that sign means...pirate treasure!
Tank drills.
I love the sound of heavy machine gun fire in the morning.
Why do people take close up pictures of flowers?
After many uphills, the descent into the Arava Valley.
A friendly chap named Cecil showing us around Kibbutz Ketura, which is also where the Arava Institute is located.
Some of the Arava students -- from Israel, North America, Jordan, the West Bank, Gaza -- share their stories of how they got here.
Rafi, post-Lag b'Omer trim.
Rafi and Arthur talk bikes and hairstyles.
Mingle session right outside our guest house.
Fine beverages were served.
Semi-unimpressive Lag b'Omer campfire.
Nigel.
Rest stop on the last day, when temperatures broke 110 degrees.
Riding along the Egyptian border.
Egypt (left) and Mia.
Peeing across the border as the Egyptian lookout looks out. Very classy.
As the Israeli border patrol passed the Egyptian tower, they waved to each other.
First hazy glimpse of the Red Sea.
Not sure what I'm looking at.
This guy kept catching up to us at rest stops.
The sun started to get to the crew...
Border checkpoint before the descent to Eilat. The soldiers started applauding for us, which was kinda cool.
No comment.
Rounding the bend into Eilat.
Amy, after we arrive at the finish.
Done did it!
A full-service hotel.
No need to change first...into the sea.
Looking across the gulf to Aqaba and the world's largest (as far as I know) Jordanian flag...
Jelly fish. Fortunately, someone yelled at me before I, like, tried to touch it.
The final dinner.
Rafi's JTS softball team t-shirt: I still don't really get the joke.
Slide show/video -- this really was like summer camp.
...complete with group songs.
Michele at her mobile office.
Boarding the flight back to Tel Aviv...Arkia is like the AirTran of Israel...
Our hotel from the air.
Looking out over the Egyptian Sinai.
The Dead Sea, from a different perspective.
Jerusalem.
Tel Aviv.
Driving into Tel Aviv.
These beaches are much nicer.
The Jewish Sheraton.
The view from Michele's suite (we think they upgraded her after sending us to the wrong Sheraton three blocks away).
Rafi cracks himself up.
Wow, I, like, went more than a week without TV.
Running into Keren Toledano on the 18th floor of the Sheraton Tel Aviv. We live 13 blocks apart and I have never run into her randomly in New York.
On the tayelet (promenade).
Shesh besh.
The ATM that ate Rafi's card (also pictured: my feet).
Calling the bank to send someone to retrieve Rafi's card.
Having a snack while we wait for the guy from the bank to come to retrieve Rafi's card.
Starting a crossword puzzle (which we would finish over the course of the night) while waiting for the guy from the bank to arrive to retrieve Rafi's card.
Yep. At some American-themed bar.
Cool historical photo shop. Too bad it wasn't open.
I used to love Burger Ranch. Nobody would eat there with me, though.
Finishing the crossword puzzle that we started while waiting for the guy from the bank to arrive to retrieve Rafi's card.
Last day, back in Jerusalem.
Nice editing.
One last round of yogurt.
I got creepy looks from the security guards after taking this picture. I don't blame them.
Mahane Yehuda, the main outdoor market.
No, seriously, is that all the halvah you have? Nothing more in the back?
Chicks with guns.
I think the baby in the stroller is actually made of porcelain.
L'hitraot...!
