FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA!

After an early morning davening we left Kibbutz Ketura. We had a nice ride for about 18 miles or so, and then for another four miles we had the most ferocious winds you can imagine, that were developing into a sandstorm. Our speed was about 3-4 miles per hour. Our guide told us that this region gets about 5-10 of these a year, and it so happened that this was one of those time. So, we took some rudimentary shelter at a bus stop. Then, one of the vans schlepped up back to a rest stop that we left four miles earlier which had a small oasis of palm trees for cover. Our bikes were loaded onto the back of the bike truck, and we waited a the rest stop for all the groups to arrive. Then, we all piled into the bus where we bussed to the top of Mt. Hezekiah. From there, we were able to see four countries: Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. We were literally on the border with Egypt, and were less that 100 meters from the Egyptian guard tower. Apparently the Egyptian army sends these poor guys there on 2 week stints alone, and tourists on the Israeli side sometimes throw over cartons of cigarettes for them. The funniest was seeing a bunch of these bikers lined up relieving themselves by the barbed wire after drinking multiple liters of water to prepare for a ride in the desert that turned into a bus ride. Still too windy, we rode on the bus until the next mountain top. By that location the wind had died down a lot, and we rode the last 5 miles or so down the mountain, to Eilat, through the town and to the sea. The ride down was scary for me as we get no downhills of like that in Dallas. Uphills hurt, but downhills make your hair stand on end. I was riding my brake so hard I could smell it, and I was still hitting over 30 mph -- I can only imagine what the speed demons in the group were were doing.

When we reached the hotel, they had beer and munchies for us and we were all able to relax by the sea. The water was still cool, but some got in to swim. All in all... AMAZING. My mind is tired from the ride and the over stimulation, but hopefully in the next hours and days, I will be able to post some reflection on the experience.