May 2006 Archive
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May 2006 Posts
I'm back from Israel, but I'm not in Virginia at the moment.
Can you guess where I am? Here's your clue:
Here's all my photos!
IsraelRide 2006
Day 0 - Bike Setup and Old City Tour
Day 1 - Jerusalem to Ashquelon
Day 2 - Ashquelon to Mashabei Sadeh
Day 3 - Mountain Biking & Kibbutz Sde-Boker to Mitzpe Ramon
Day 4 - Shabbat at Mitzpe Ramon
Day 5 - Mitzpe Ramon to Kibbutz Ketura
Day 6 - Kibbutz Ketura to Eilat
Before the rideArrive in JerusalemYad Vashem and Jerusalem Mall
After the rideShopping and Snorkeling in EilatRelaxing in Tel Aviv
My fundraising page:
http://arava.kintera.org/2006israelride/dylangreene
Eilat is a beach resort city with lots of hotels, shopping right on the beautiful Red Sea.
Down into the machtesh (it's not a crater!). This was a hot and sunny day!
Distance: 60 miles
I'm back from my two week trip to Israel. I'll have photos up soon. Still recovering from the jetlag..
The ride is over and I'm happy to say it was a wonderful success. The hotels, food, weather, and people couldn't have been more perfect. It was long, hot, and exhausting, and worth every mile of it.
Since I can't use my laptop (power supply is busted), I'm using a terminal in a Tel Aviv internet cafe to post this, and I'm about to run out of time.
The photos from the rest of the trip will be online soon after I return home on Sunday!
Day three of biking!
After being on road bikes for well over 100 miles it was a great change of pace and environment to hop on mountain bikes and take a rocky and hilly trail to a spring in the middle of the desert.
Today was the hottest day so far, and you'll see hardly any trees and lots of rolling rocky hills.
Distance: 67 miles including mountain biking
Second day of biking!
You'll see lots of photos from my favorite impromptu stop so far - an ostridge farm that went for miles and was populate with thousands of ostridges that could be seen in every direction.
Distance: 68 miles
First day of biking!
You'll notice from these photos lots and lots of trees!
Distance: 66 miles
Well I wasn't ready for this one - my laptop's power supply just exploded. A small crackle, a poof of smoke, and the smell of burnt electronics. And so it is now impossible for me to charge the laptop.
So I have two hours of power for the next week I'm here in Israel. Yikes!
I can use other people's machines to sort the photos from the last few days, but i might not be able to upload new photos until I get back to Virginia on the 21st.
Anybody in Israel have a charge cable for an old Compaq Armada M700? 
Today is the second day of riding and I'm tired but not sore, partly thanks to the free massages today!
I have to go to bed now so I won't have time to upload and sort the photos but I should tomorrow. I've even been tracking the ride with GPS using my phone and some cool software so you'll be able to see satellite images of our route.
Here's a preview photo of my dad and me, more to come soon!
Also, we are still accepting donations!
Donate here: http://arava.kintera.org/2006israelride/dylangreene
$1 or $100, every bit helps!
Together the riders have raised almost $500,000 already!
(More about IsraelRide)
Last day before the ride starts!
The first thing we did today was set our bikes up. Most people brought their bikes in shipping containers on the plane. I have a pretty crappy bike back at home so I opted to use one of their bikes - a brand new Fuji road bike.
After setting our bikes up and a picnic lunch we got a tour of the Old City again. You might recognize a few views from our first day in Jerusalem we entered a different gate and saw a few different things.
Tommorrow we'll be waking up at 4:45 to begin our jouney!
More photos!
Today we went to Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust museum and memorial.
We also went to the Jerusalem Mall, a mall very similar to any in the US. A perfect place to pick up some extra socks and t-shirts I neglected to pack.
Just two more days until we begin our 300 mile ride!
By the way - I am still accepting donations! Donations go to two institutes that promote peace and better treatment and awareness of the environment in the middle east. I've raised over $3000 so far and I'd like to try to get to $4000 by the end of the ride next week.
Donate Here!
All credit cards accepted, tax deductible, etc etc.
Photos from Day 1 are here!
- 10 hour flight from Newark, NJ to Tel Aviv, Israel. I caught up on Lost and started watching V for Vendetta.
- Arrive at our hotel - Mount Zion Hotel, a converted Turkish mansion.
- Explore the Old City - the ancient part of Jerusalem.
- Walk around Jerusalem, Ben Yehuda street, and other surrounding areas.
In preparation for IsraelRide next week my dad and I biked 75 miles on Saturday. It took us 8 hours, including some snack breaks and a stop for lunch. It was the longest he and I have ever rode in one day.
The weather was nice again on Monday, so I did it again - all 75 miles, but as fast as possible. I did it in just six hours. The best part is that I'm not even sore today. I think I'm ready for the IsraelRide, which totals about 300 miles over five days of riding.
The WO&D Trail - not too crowded on a Monday.
Speaking of the IsraelRide - which starts a week from today - it's not too late to donate. I've reached my goal of $3000, but I'd like to raise even more. It's a simple form, they accept all credit cards, 100% goes to the organizations I'm raising money for, and they'll send you a receipt so you can deduct your donation on your taxes next year.
Donate here:
http://arava.kintera.org/2006israelride/dylangreene
If everyone who reads my blog today gives just $10 I'd raise an additional $30,000!
I'm in New York till Wednesday at 7.
Anybody want to meet for an early dinner Wednesday, say 5pm?