Category: ALYN Wheels of Love

A day to regroup with Road Plus –
56 miles, 6500 feet vertical

>>> Photos have been added … Sorry for the delay. <<<

After yesterday’s brutal start to the Wheels of Love, I thought long and hard about Day 2 (well, maybe not so long or and not so hard) and decided to ride with the Road Plus group today.  Frankly, it felt better to be riding with folks more my speed and not feel the pressure of the sweep bus.  And most importantly – many of my close friends are on Road Plus and so it was a fun ride and a much easier going attitude overall.  Truth be told, I owed them an apology since I had been trash talking them for deserting me on Challenge.  So, I ate some humble pie and had a great day.  Tomorrow, it’s back to Challenge, but without the trash talk – I have learned my lesson.

Even without all the Challenge-rider-testosterone, we still had some pretty tough climbs and as you can see, we covered almost the same total elevation.  And it was hot.  And we had a head wind.  Anyway, it felt a lot better to be at the front of the pack, for sure.   After some pretty tough hills to start things off, we headed for Mt. Meron.  Thankfully, it’s a steady gradient of about 6-7% so it was easier overall to just hunker down and get it done.  We stopped for the obligatory photo ops at the top with breathtaking views of the Hula Valley below. 

The only small hitch came in the middle of the ride as we passed one of our accompanying Police motorcycles at an intersection and flew down this amazing downhill for – I don’t know – 5-6 miles or so.  It was exhilarating… right up to the point … where … we realized we missed that turn and we had to literally turn around and climb back up.  Bummer.  Somewhere around 80% of the way back up, a sweep bus picked us up and jumped us back onto the route.  It was decided to call it a “no shame” bus.  Seriously, in the scheme of things, it was no big deal (but go tell that to the people who were really upset!  Come on, at least we’re not being shot at!)

The last stretch was a bit of a slog and we were all pretty beat at that point.  Thankfully, the Beer Garden truck was there to meet us at the finish.

Tomorrow is the day we all feared – the climb to Mt. Hermon.  Scheduled for over 80 miles and almost 10,000 feet of climbing.  I had better get some sleep!! 

Please enjoy these pictures from our second day in the Golan Heights.  And be sure to check out the photos of me and Guy Sagiv, the Israeli Cycling Champion. I take up twice as many pixels – and that’s WITH holding in my stomach!!

And, if you want to support my ride, please visit alynactive.org/participant/jeff-blye.  To all those who have already donated – THANK YOU so very much.  I am deeply grateful for your support.

A Challenging start to Wheels of Love 2019 –
66 miles, 7760 feet vertical (scheduled), shortened to 55 miles, 6450 feet vertical

I’m not going to sugarcoat it.  Today was really hard.  After our usual opening ceremony and our usual opening balagan, the Challenge riders set out from Biriya forest just a little late at 10:20am.   Man oh man, the initial descent was steep (-14-15% grade).  It was so steep, I couldn’t even take pictures (so you know it was steep).  For a Day 1, there was no acclimation and no easing into it.  It was gangbusters from the get-go.  There’s a lot of energy and a lot of testosterone in this group and at 67 (next month), I’m one of the oldest riders on Challenge (if not THE oldest – I’ll check.) 

On the first steep climb, it took a lot of discipline for me to stay “in the zone” and not blow up. Of course, this also found me slipping to the back and it wasn’t long before I felt the sweep bus entourage creeping up behind me.  I decided to stay focused, keep the breathing steady, put it in my lowest gear and just grind away.  The gradient varied with long stretches over 10% (some 12-14% segments).  My goal was to survive to the first pit stop at 26km.  I made it – and most importantly, I wasn’t last!! 

Just for a reference check, riding with us is the Israeli Cycling Champion, Guy Sagiv, who by the looks of it, doesn’t have a single ounce of body fat. So what if he did the climbs twice to my once?  It was also quite hot (90s) and many people were cramping up.  I struggled to stay hydrated.

Because we got a late start, the sun was already going down by the time we got to our lunch stop.  The ride was called and we bussed back to the hotel.  We ended up doing somewhere around 54-55 miles and 6400 feet of vertical.  All agreed – it was a tough day.  More to come tomorrow.  Laila tov.

Please enjoy these pictures from our first day in the Golan Heights. 

And, if you want to support my ride, please visit alynactive.org/participant/jeff-blye.  To all those who have already donated – THANK YOU so very much.  I am deeply grateful for your support.

Be a part of the 2019 Wheels of Love with your donation to this amazing cause.

🇮🇱🚴🏻🇮🇱 It’s been a busy couple of days in Jerusalem as I make final preparations for the ❤️ International Wheels of Love ❤️ Nov 10-14. I count 13 flags – that’s how many countries are represented by riders! 🇮🇱🚴🏻🇮🇱

Won’t you help make a child smile today with a donation to this wonderful cause? We self-fund our expenses so every dollar goes to the hospital.

You can follow me on jeffblye.com and find the link to donate (or visit alynactive.org/participant/jeff-blye.) I am deeply grateful for your support. To all those who have already donated – THANK YOU so very much. 🇮🇱🚴🏻🇮🇱

Please enjoy these pictures from beautiful Jerusalem and sign up for updates on the link to the right. Read more about Why I Ride below.