10-28-2017 Ride

Posted long after this ride.  The route tracking for this ride wasn't correct, so I'll try to reconstruct it.  Judging from the starting point in Yehud, this was a ride with Dror Reginiano and his group, probably the first one I did with them.  I think Zvika was in the ride as well, not positive on that.  Headed out the 461 to the 40, and I got ahead of the group and continued on the 40, not knowing that the others had turned at the 453.  One of the riders caught up to me and we turned around and rode back to the others.  At this point the route tracking stopped, so I think we headed over to the 444 then the 5505 to get to the 443 heading up to Modi'in.  This is a gradual climb, pretty steady, and I remember being generally able to keep up with them.  Past Modi'in, we turned right onto Derech Yair Parag, which changes into Derech Menachem Begin.  Over to the 4249, which generally dropped down to the beginning of Hwy 3.  This road had a short little climb up to get over to Latrun, where we stopped for a break before continuing.  Then we continued on the 424, flat and fast until the little climb up to Kfar Bin-Nun.  Then it was another long downhill run to the 44 connection.  I think it was on this ride that I got a front tire flat and the support car swapped my wheel with a spare so I could continue quickly.  That was pretty great.  We took the 44 back to the 40 and headed north, still at pretty high speed (these guys rode fast).  Took the 40 back to the 461 and to the starting point.

Total mileage = 43.1 mph

Total elevation gain = 2040'

https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2547272574

10-27-2017 Ride

Posted long after this ride.  Ride on Ann's birthday,  heading up the coast past the marina and the Tel Aviv Port, across the bridge and by the old airport to the end of the Tayellet, then taking surface streets up until it looks like I got onto Hwy 2 heading north riding until I got off at Abba Eban Blvd and headed west to the Hertzliya marina area.  Rode around there a little bit and then took another road back to Hwy 2, heading south until I exited at the same place I entered, generally retracing my route from there back home.

Avg speed = 15.4 mph. Total mileage = 21.1 mi

Total elevation gain = 450'

https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2545748511

2017 Shanti Ride

Posted long after this ride.  I really wish I had taken the time to record the memories while they were fresh.  I remember riding with Zvika Cohen and Nir Armoni, along with another rider whom I don't remember so well.  Looks like we met by the parking lot for the stadium for the start, and it was just starting to lighten up when we began.  Down to the Wolfson interchange, where we got onto the Ayalon and headed south.  For this ride, the streets were completely closed to car traffic, which was absolutely great.  We followed a pace car, and on this ride keeping up with the pace car was easier at first, then more challenging for me as the ride progressed.  Down to Hwy 4 past Ashdod, eventually turning onto the 232.  First rest stop was at mile 26 or so, and if I remember correctly the other rider (Yossi?) had a mechanical issue that he tried to fix with the support staff.  This caused us to leave at the very end of the time they allowed for this stop, at which point I tried to stay with the others as they pushed hard to catch up with the main riders and get back to the front of the pack.  We kept on the 232 down through Sderot, then stopped for lunch and the second break around mile 51 at Be'eri.  The food was decent, as I recall, and up to this point there wasn't much net climbing in the ride.  At mile 62 we turned onto the 222, and we stayed on it down to Tse'elim at mile 72, where the next stop was located.  I think it was here that I started feeling the effects of the ride.  They had some kind of frozen or ice cream treats there, which were pretty great.  We had started gradually climbing around mile 60, and it continued after we got back on the route.  Near mile 92, we took a couple of surface streets to get to the next rest stop at mile 93.  My average speed had been decreasing for a while, and after this stop the incline got steeper and my legs were feeling it.  We had gotten onto the 40, taking a right a little later to stay on this road.  Around mile 104 (?), we stopped to meet up with some of the Bet HaShanti youth, who rode the last several miles with us.  It was pretty cool and inspiring.  Finished up the ride feeling pretty good, wiped out but my legs held out okay.  There was good food at the end of the ride, where we loaded our bikes into trucks, followed by a program that I didn't get so much out of, since it was in Hebrew.  Still, pretty inspiring.  I remember that the bus was really crowded on the way back home, and there were people having to sit in the aisles.

Avg speed = 17.0 mph. Total mileage = 108.8 mi

Total elevation gain = 3380'

https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2535115563

10-20-2017 Ride

Posted log after this ride.  Warm-up for the next day, the Bet HaShanti ride.  Out by the stadium to Ben Zvi and the 44, taking it down to the 40 and then heading north.  Split off at the 46, probably by accident, and then got back to the 40 via the 4613.  Up to the 461, taking it back into town and to Kibbutz Galuyot  all the way back to Yerushalaim.

Avg speed = 17.4 mph. Total mileage = 31.1 mi

Total elevation gain = 680'

https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2533195173

10-14-2017 Ride

Solo ride to get miles in as a way of preparing for the Shanti ride next week.  The route was simple: head out Derekh Ben-Tsvi until it turns into Highway 44, ride until it ends, and then determine what to do next.  I started early, riding for about 40 min when it was dark enough that I needed a light.  Good cadence and felt good in the early stages.  Out to Ramla, where I missed a turn for the 44 and rode into the town for a little bit before realizing my mistake.  Backtracked and got on course again.  The 44 is a pretty good road for riding in general.  After it crosses Highway 40, it starts to tilt up in a rolling manner, with the uphill stretches apparently more numerous than the downhills.  I rode past the turnoff to Tel Gezer and then beyond the crossing with Highway 3, after which there are a couple of more significant climbs to negotiate.  The highway dead-ends into Highway 38, so when I got there I decided to head south toward Bet Shemesh and beyond.  Again, it was rolling hills, but here the uphills were gradual and generally longer, including a couple of steeper sections, usually short.  I rode out to about mile 41 before turning around an retracing my route.  On the way back, I caught a couple of sprinkles of rain, nothing hard enough to make rooster-tails on the road but enough to give me pause about how slick they were.  I was still pushing a pretty decent pace but starting to slow down, both from the extended effort as well as the lack of taking in calories.  Back on Highway 44, I really started to notice that I was slowing down and didn’t have a lot of push in my legs, and it gradually got worse.  My only saving grace was that the ride back was generally downhill, so I could coast or ride on the flats okay.  By the time I got to the crossing with Highway 4, I was toasted, and so my progress from there back home was slow, although not painful.  My leg muscles held out okay, a couple of minor twinges but no real cramping, just tiredness and lack of push.  It was definitely good to get back to the apartment, where I was very hungry.  I had one of the best handfuls of roasted almonds I ever ate, and the piece of bread and small sections of chocolate were also pretty wonderful.

Avg speed = 16.4 mph. Total mileage = 81.3 mi

Total elevation gain = 4670'

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2521875353

10-12-2017 Ride

Ride in the morning with not a lot of traffic to battle on the holiday.  Out Derekh Ben-Tsvi to the 44, starting in the dark because I wanted to get back early enough to go on an outing later with Ann.  My aim was to find out what riding to work on this route was like, so I turned on the 412 and took it through Rishon Letzion and Nes Ziona.  Decent roads, a little crowded and slow through the lights in downtown Rishon.  Normal way into work from southern Nes Ziona, where it took me, all told, about 45-50 min of riding time to get there.  A short break when I arrived, then I turned around and retraced my route, at least back into Tel Aviv.  At some point, I decided to add a couple of miles to it and headed into the southern part of Tel Aviv, including riding down Herzl St, to ride through the relatively empty surface streets, eventually coming out by the HaCarmel market and then to the coast road before turning south.  Into Jaffa heading up Yefet Street and then onto Yehuda Margoza to come down through the Shouk before connecting with Shimon Ben Gamliel and coming home.

Avg speed = 17.3 mph. Total mileage = 30.1 mi

Avg heartrate = 133 bpm

Total elevation gain = 960’

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2518410800

10-08-2017 Ride

Posted long after this ride.  Big loop around Holon and through Rishon LeTsiyon.  We were in our apartment by this time, I headed by the stadium to Shlabim to get over to Ben Zvi.  Then it was down the 44 to the 412, turning right and riding through Rishon until taking another right onto Rothschild St, which changes names a couple of times into Sderot Yitshak Rabin.  Down toward Superland, where I rode around a little bit before getting onto the 441 and eventually taking surface streets through Bat Yam to get to Yerushalaim, which led me back into Yafo and home.

Avg speed = 15.3 mph. Total mileage = 20.1 mi

Total elevation gain = 600'

https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2510576153

10-07-2017 Ride

Solo ride this morning.  I was going to ride with Slavik, Oren’s friend, but he was ill in the night and couldn’t ride.  So I headed out from home while it was still dark, around 6:00.  I headed by the stadium and connected onto Kibbutz Galuyot to head east.  This road goes through residential areas past the 20 intersection and out to where the 4 crosses it, then it thins out and is a better road for riding (the 461) with fewer lights and stops.  I headed out to the 40 and turned left, with a general thought to ride north and east on this highway as long as I could.  This is a good road to ride, particularly on Shabbat morning when there is very little traffic.  Rode through the eastern outskirts of Petah Tikva and continued on, staying on the 40 as it turned more northeast at the northeast corner of this city.  I rode on a little longer but wasn’t watching closely enough for the next 40 turnoff indication, so I missed it and rode a couple of miles on the 402, which took me into the center of Kfar Sava.  I finally figured out I was on the wrong road and turned around to retrace my route until I got back on the 40.  Followed it to its end and then got onto the 55, still heading northeast to the 5504.  These are also generally nice roads to ride.  Road turns into the 551 and deadends not long after, where I turned left and rode the 441 for a couple of miles before I turned around to head back.  Interestingly, on the map it looks like there is a Bedouin neighborhood just past where I turned around, so maybe an interesting route to take in the future.  I retraced my route back to the intersection of the 40 and the 461, deciding to keep going on the 40 to put some more miles in.  It’s an interesting route, running by IAI and some outbuildings for the airport.  I eventually turned around and headed back, noting that the 461 and Kibbutz Galuyot are good returning roads (at least when the wind isn’t coming from the west), with a general flat-to-downhill slope.  Back to Yerushalaim and then to Ben-Zvi before heading home.  Felt good throughout the ride, no muscle soreness or cramps.

Avg speed = 18.2 mph. Total mileage = 68.4 mi

Avg heartrate = 141 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1480’

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2508829859

10-05-2017 Ride

Ride with Oren and Slavik, designed to be a fairly slow pace, as Oren was recovering from a sore back.  I met him near his house, and we rode out to the normal exit route from Netanya heading north, meeting up with Slavik.  The route took us generally north and then turned east, where we got into agricultural land that was interesting to see.  Fairly early in the ride we encountered some drizzle that turned into rain for a while and wasn’t pleasant.  The roads got slick but not wet enough to throw up significant rooster tails.  The raid slacked off and we rode through the middle third of the ride without to much wetness.  As we headed back south we passed close to the border with the Palestinian territory, generally near Nablus.  Not too long afterward, we turned more westward and headed back into south Netanya, eventually stopping at the same café where Laura and I hung out before we went to dinner at Michel’s home back in March.  Then it was a fairly slow ride back to where I parked, with a couple of extra miles added in so that Slavik could get to 60 km.  Felt good, and deliberately kept my pace matched with the others so as not to stress my legs too much.

Avg speed = 15.0 mph. Total mileage = 38.2 mi

Avg heartrate = 110 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1000’

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2505264200

10-04-2017 Ride

Ride with Zvika, leaving from his house in Givat Brener.  I got a little lost on the way over, coming into the town via the normal entrance, not the side entrance that I had remembered.  Got there in time, and we left around 6:00, heading over to the 411 and then turning left onto the 40 to head generally northeast.  Past the turnoff heading into Rehovot, continuing on beyond the 431 and then onto the 44 heading southeast before getting onto the 424 to ride by the tank museum in Latrun, where we turned onto the 3.  I don’t know why, but this was a really fast stretch for me, feeling good even though the previous evening I had a kidney stone attack that wiped me out.  Interesting, during the attack, when I was really feeling bad, my heartrate was in the low 40s.  We stayed on the 3 until turning around in Kiryat Malakhi and heading back the same way.  By this time, Zvika was starting to slow down, so I lowered my pace as well  I had a front tire flat around this time, repaired it but didn’t have a lot of success in pumping it up to a decent pressure.  We turned left onto the 411, which we had ridden the previous time and which goes by the Barkan Winery outside Hulda.  A little climb just after the turn but it wasn’t much.  From there, it was generally flat to downhill back to Givat Brener, and we slowed down significantly after we crossed the 40 to coast back in.  This was a surprisingly good ride for me, felt good and had a very high average speed before we slowed down at the end.

Avg speed = 18.9 mph. Total mileage = 54.5 mi

Avg heartrate = 144 bpm (est)

Total elevation gain = 1660’

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2503129499