Well... so far so good. The bag got packed, the bike packed, and got to Tel Aviv. I hope that it doesn't count as bearing false witness by saying that my bag was with me the entire time. I just felt that it wouldn't seem okay if I said that my bike was out of my sight from 12-16 hours a day, and were watched over by a crew headed by two Muslim students from the Arava Institute named Souliman and Osama, with a Vietnamese mechanic named Geo. Then the bike was transported by a mysterious Israeli company headed by a faceless "Itzkik" whom I have never met. Then my bike mysteriously arrived in a plain white van at a pre-appointed time and gate delivered by a man whose name I never knew. As the old saying goes, "What they don't know, can't hurt them."
Today I will have taken every mode of public transportation available in Israel except for bus and boat: cab, domestic flight, train, international flight. I had a few hours before my flight and got to walk around my friend Lesley's lovely Tel Aviv neighborhood and live real life in the neighborhood for an hour or so. Then, I took the train with my friend Uri Zeira to have dinner with his family.
Now I am sitting in Ben Gurion airport, mysteriously waved through all of security without even having my bike or bag x-rayed, and getting a few extra minutes at the ever expanding duty free shops. I feel like my mind is still spinning like my wheels coasting down the hill to Eilat.
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What a GREAT experience this must have been - Highlighted by a terrific picture of triumph. I can almost hear the music from Rocky (Climbing the steps in front of the Philly Art museum). Thank you for keeping us posted throughout your journey.
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