In just a few short days, I will be leaving for Israel to ride my butt off (again) – this time for an amazing charity that I have supported for twelve years. It’s the ALYN Children’s Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel and the ride is called the International Wheels of Love.
Once again, my wife Joanne and I – Team Blyecycles – will travel to Israel and join 350 other riders from over a dozen countries to ride for five days across the Negev, up and down staggering rock formations, and climb from the Dead Sea (the lowest place on Earth) to Jerusalem where the Children of ALYN greet us with open grateful arms. When they strain against their disabilities to put medals on the riders, there isn’t a dry eye in the house.
This is my 12th year doing this ride and it has helped to change my outlook on life. ALYN helps children with birth defects, war trauma or injuries from car accidents. They are non-denominational and help all children regardless of religion.
Most importantly, Joanne and I self-fund all of our expenses for this trip so that every dollar you donate goes directly to the hospital.
Won’t you please consider making a donation to this amazing cause.
I am so deeply grateful for your support – and OF COURSE, YES – I will be blogging and posting photos about the journey. Come along with me to Israel.
To all of my generous supporters – past, present and future – I thank you so very very much.
…Jeff
Wheels of Love Challenge Rider
2007-2018
Please enjoy these amazing pictures from previous Wheels of Love rides.
Team Blyecycles 2016 – Jeff, Joanne, Samantha and MattOpening day in the NegevClimbing up the steep cliffs of the Makhtesh.Conquering the switchbacks.Looking back on what we had just climbed.Every year, my goal is simple: stay ahead of the sweep bus!Typical desert vista.Morning yoga at sunrise on the the Makhtesh.I could stare at this picture all day.Rest stop in the desert on one of our century rides. Joanne likes when I say, “My wife stops traffic.” And, she does.Meet Erez Cohen, our most amazing Challenge Ride Leader.Erez Cohen, just showing off …Erez Cohen, really showing off. How on earth does he do that?You really can’t get lost in Israel. If you’ve hit a border fence, you’ve gone too far.Oops, caught in the act.About to climb the tortuous Ma’ale Akrabbim (“Scorpion’s Ascent”) – the steepest road in all of Israel.Alpe D’Huez is nothing compared to this.Ma’ale Akrabbim … from near the top down.Ma’ale Akrabbim … still have some climbing to do.Descending down to 1,400 feet BELOW sea level, it’s always good mark this spot.Floating in the Dead Sea.On the climb back up to Jerusalem, we stop for some “camel-ing” around.Never a dry eye in the house when a disabled child puts a medal around your neck.My two amazing kids.
Yes, that’s right – it’s 5am and my son Matt and I are standing in the dark outside Penn Station in Manhattan about to embark on our “bragging rights” longest one-day ride out to Montauk, Long Island. Did I mention that it’s dark outside? This ride usually takes place in May, but for logistical reasons too boring to go into, it was moved to September this year. That means, sunrise an hour later and dark for us an hour longer.
Eventually, though, the sun does come up and we just keep that big yellow thing in front of us since we are heading east for the entire day.
We always keep an eye on the weather for this ride, and usually (hint, hint), there is a prevailing westerly wind (wind out of the west, and helping us all day). But this year (as has happened a few other times as well), we had a 7-8 mph headwind the entire day. It got old really quickly. But, we soldiered on and finished in under 12 hours. Ok, Matt finished a lot under 12 hours. I was just happy to finish.
Please enjoy these photos from the incredible day. Man oh man, we were beat by the end. Best part though – hot showers and a big party at the finish.
(Click on the first photo for a slide show.)
Here’s our route: 153 miles from midtown Manhattan out to Montauk. And no, we did not take the Long Island Expressway.
Things are a little dark and fuzzy at 5am at the starting point.
Things are a little dark and fuzzy at 5am at the starting point.
34th Street needs those billboards to provide shed some light on the subject.
Crossing the Williamsburg Bridge and heading into the dark.
Heading east …
… just keep that big yellow thing in front of you.
Hey Matt, do you want to go to Jones Beach instead?
Matt shows me how it feels to bike 150 miles on only a couple hours of sleep.
On Dune Rd, we pass the century mark. Note the elevation: 8 feet above sea level. See next photo for an illustration…
… this is what 8 foot elevation looks like. Dune Rd floods easily.
Heading to the Ponquogue Bridge.
We pose for our traditional photo op.
We pose for our traditional photo op.
Check out Matt’s awesome Teri bike. He looks fast standing still.
Riding through the Hamptons…
Welcome to the Hamptons, aka Ground Zero in the Land of Entitlement.
That sign signals we’re near the end of this trek.
Best part of the ride? Taking a nice hot shower and feeling human again.
Celebration on the beach with music, food and beer …
My wonderful family and Uber drivers Joanne and Samantha.
The boys did it!
From sun up to sun down, Samantha gets ready for the drive home.
If you are in the Long Island area tomorrow afternoon, come on up to the rooftop terrace of the Port Washington Public Library for a 50th anniversary celebration of the Beatles concert on the rooftop of the Apple Records building in London.
🎹🎼🎶 I’m playing keys with a great group of musicians. 🎹🎼🎶
Weather forecast couldn’t be better. It’ll be a hoot, not to be missed.
>>> Saturday, 9/29, 5-7:30pm <<< See more details below!!!
…Jeff 🎹🎼🎶🍷
(Oh, yeah, and it’s free!)
Port Washington Public Library, 1 Library Dr, Port Washington, NY 11050
September 2, 2018
Back to the Mountains – Labor Day Weekend
Shandaken, NY – Catskill Forest loop – 66 miles, 3,646 feet vertical
Hi everyone,
I’ve heard from many of you that you miss my blogs. Well, let’s be clear: I sure do miss writing them and more importantly, I miss WHY I was writing them.
Here we are, on Labor Day Weekend – the traditional signal for the end of summer – and as my riding companion Tami would say, “Where DID the summer go? Oh, that’s right, we spent it riding across the country!” Yes indeed. I’m still in mourning at its end (the ride, not the summer.)
And so, I’m in the Catskills this weekend for a “destination” wedding of the daughter of a dear friend and thought this would be a great opportunity to skip the group breakfast and go for a long ride, while channeling all my coveted memories of our cross-country adventure and wonderful summer together.
Our host’s event is at a summer camp just outside the small town of Shandaken, NY – a tiny junction in the middle of the Catskill Forest Preserve. This area is dotted with summer camps and reminds me of the now-long-defunct camps I went to as a young camper and also as a camp counselor. (I had 8 and 9 year-old boys and it was SO much fun.)
Plotting out a bike ride here doesn’t leave many options. Being in the middle of the preserve, there are only a few roads amid mostly forested areas with the occasional town. And, without a topo map, I really didn’t know what I was in for in terms of elevation. But after the mountain passes in Oregon, the Tetons and Continental Divide in Wyoming, I figured, how bad could it be? So I plotted a 60+ mile loop and headed out.
Man oh man, did it feel good to be riding again. And climbing again. And descending again. And cruising again. I comforted myself with fond reminiscences of this summer’s journey and all of the fantastic new friends from the ride.
The loop started out going north and up – seriously up – and I immediately regretted not checking elevations first. But one thing about riding across the country: it gives you confidence. And so I climbed through beautiful forested areas and just decided to grind it out. Eventually, and not too bad overall, I reached a peak and then it was downhill to the small town of Lexington. Sadly, Lexington has seen better days and like many small towns in the general area, it seemed depressed with many boarded up buildings. It was Sunday morning, though, and the church was going strong. I continued north and finished the first 23-mile leg at Grand Gorge before turning to the south west.
Still riding into a headwind (oh yeah, remember those?) I rode into Roxbury at about the halfway point. There was a cute cafe on my right whose espresso machine seemed to call to me. It reminded me of our wonderful Dutch couple, Herman and Ada, who stopped at every espresso bar in the US in search of a good cup of coffee. Feeling rejuvenated (and smiling), I continued to Arkville before turning east to head back toward Shandaken on Route 28. I was hoping to make it to the wedding camp site in time for lunch from 1 to 2.
Unfortunately for me, the access road to the campground was a 3-mile slog uphill with the final section kicking up to a whopping 17-18% grade. I tried, folks, I really did, but when I rounded a corner and saw yet another quarter-mile of this ridiculous steep grade, I did something I hadn’t done for 3,700 miles. I got off my bike and walked. (My good buddy Herb and I used to call this “cross-training”!)
At any rate, a hearty Mazel Tov to Hillary and Alex on an idyllic weekend wedding celebration and the amazing Marjorie Goldstein, mother of the bride. Sadly, Lenny Goldstein passed away three months ago and could not be here in person, although he was certainly here in spirit.
Next weekend, I’m looking forward to a mini-reunion of sorts in south New Jersey with Abbe and Arlene for the Sourlands Ride. I’m still hoping to catch up in person with more folks here in the northeast before the weather turns and before I go to Israel at the end of October, so stay tuned.
Here’s a fun animated look at today’s 66-mile loop ride along with just a few photos to remember the day.
As always, thank you for following.
…Jeff
Here’s the loop I mapped out: counter-clockwise from Shandaken (Route 42),with a little tail at the end to the festivities at Timber Lake Camp.Seriously, how do you not just stare at this? Stunning view from the bridge in Lexington.More interrupting co… “MOOOO!!!”You’re welcome.A hint up ahead at more climbing to come …Hey, I used to ski here!Some sort of weird track maintenance car, but I never miss a chance for a good railroad shot.What goes up, must come down. Hmmm, … should I ride or take the train?Exhilarating downhill at -9% grade. I hit about 43 mph when my front wheel started to shimmy. Scared the bejesus out of me. Will have to ask Alex to take a look at that.Hey Ted, wanna come up here and fish?Looks a lot bumpier in 3D, eh? Take it for a ride by clicking here: https://www.relive.cc/view/1815399502The beautiful bride and some of her many friends …Can you spot the bride and her twin sister?
On the morning of the “day after”, I woke up early in solidarity for the folks that were taking the 7am shuttle to Logan Airport.After all, the alarm seemed permanently set around 5 or 5:30, so why mess with it?A major group of riders had stayed overnight in Portsmouth as a staging point to begin their journey home, to various points in the US, … or to Holland, … or to Australia.
We all said our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch.I missed a lot of personal goodbyes yesterday in the emotional tumult of the ride’s conclusion at Wallis Sands beach.And so, there have been dribs and drabs of followup emails and texts over the last two days.
Joanne and I found a golf course in Tewksbury on our drive home and set out to play 18 holes.It was brutally hot and humid and, frankly, I have never been more uncomfortable.Not being able to hit a good tee shot didn’t help.Not being able to hit a good iron shot didn’t help either.Oh, and then there were the three-putts. But the real problem was that I was just plain tired.Dog-tired.We mutually agreed to quit after nine holes and get back on the road.Joanne drove for the first hour while I fell fast asleep in the passenger seat.
I usually love driving, but when it was my turn, I found it really strange to be behind the wheel.After almost two months on a bicycle, the extra two wheels just seemed weird.The stop-and-go traffic for the last hour didn’t help, but we made it home while the sun was still up.I started up all three of my motorcycles – they’re still working.And Joanne and I went out to our favorite spot for dinner. I unpacked everything from the car including my stack of hotel room keys (that I still have to put in sequential order).I went to bed a little after 10 and made a specific point to NOT set an alarm.
Being home for the first time seemed so nice … and familiar … and … so … calm.I slept a blissfully exquisite nine hours and awoke au naturelle this morning. The sun was streaming in and it took a few minutes to realize that this was much better than the last time I woke up this rested.You may recall from my Day 45 post that I had overslept and had to chase the pack for 20 miles.Not today.No Sirree Bob.
Even more striking, I did laundry this morning without having to go down to the front desk for a stack of quarters, or having to text the next person on the waiting list.
I felt relaxed and calm and satisfied and happy, but, … I also started to feel some post-partum blues. I will have to beat that away and not let it take hold over the next few days. And yet, there’s really a question lurking in the background: What next?
I miss my new family.I miss the smiling faces and everybody’s positive attitude and determination. I miss the excitement and the camaraderie.I miss all of my new ABB friends.
This morning’s dew will pass, I’m sure, but when I saw some of the personal notes, together with all the kudos that came in overnight on my blog and on Facebook, I just kind of lost it. So, you’ll just have to deal with a moist post from your verklempt blogger.
I made a second cup of coffee and headed outside to wash, clean and reassemble my bike.The trusty steed carried me from ocean to ocean with nary a hiccup – save for a few flats – and deserved some major TLC.Tomorrow, I go back to teaching my regular Thursday morning spin class and I’m looking forward to seeing all of my regulars and thanking them for following along on my journey.It will be a “Road Trip” edition playlist, for sure.
Ooh, first wash is done. I better call the next person to come down.
Thank you again for following and please enjoy a few photos.
…Jeff
Riders line up for a travel day.Robin puts some more tape on Herman and Ada’s bikes.Always in good spirits, even early on a travel day.Karen and Deana doing the load this morning.Still loading …I like Robin’s hat. (I’ve been eyeing it for a few thousand miles.)Up and into the van.Bon voyage.I still love Evin’s tee shirtJon and I bask in the reflection of what we just did.Only a few miles north to “touch” Maine before heading home.My trusty steed.My three Harley babies.Will there be a “next time”? If so, it’ll be on one of these!TLC for my Calfee. Still had pick some red seaweed out of the spokes!
Journey with Jeff 