First things first, if you recall, the end of yesterday was a very fun downhill. Like 5K of a downhill. So…today, Chicago Boss Girls chose to get bussed to the top of the hill to start the final day. Here is the picture of the day, and then I need to explain a few more things for some context.
So that crazy uphill at the very beginning is what the Chalutzim were supposed to do. I don’t know if I mentioned, there are three groups of riders. Pioneers, guardians and scouts, but I forget which is which. Chicago Boss Girls are Tzofim, or the “middle group”. The Chalutzim are crazy. 70 miles a day, super fast riders, la la la. But… they ain’t that crazy. Most of them didn’t want to bike up those 5 K of 1500 feet in altitude so they joined our group on the bus. Which meant now our “middle” group, on the last day of the ride, a bit tired and rough around the edges, were going to be pushed a bit faster. Like the people who hurt the curve in high school. And we were all excited to get to the beach because we were HOT. It’s like 85 degrees, full sun in the desert today.
So… the other thing I failed to mention is I have ADHD. Jackie has been great about reminding me to bring stuff that I often forget because my brain is in 17 other places. But not today. (Not blaming you Jackie!)
So we’re on the bus, we arrive at the drop off. Jackie had reviewed with me the night before everything I needed to bring. And guess what I forgot? My bike shoes. I am wearing Sketchers! For those who don’t bike like us crazy people, bike shoes enable you to clip your feet onto your pedals, allowing you to go faster as well as use more of your leg muscles since you pump up and down. But I didn’t want to make a fuss or try to get someone to bring them to me, so I thought, not much elevation today, I’ve biked in flat sneakers before, I can do this. And then the lead crew member pushes me to join the front of the line, and of course I can’t say no, and we are setting the pace for all those fast people (mainly boys) who joined our group. I made it about 7 miles before we hit the second big hill and I drifted back to the middle. If you look back at the photo of the topography, it’s maybe 500 feet of elevation, but I am dying. This is what the ride looks like most of today
So at our first rest stop, I am done. Tired. Hungry. Sore. Limping. My tuchus killing me. The bus is there, and for the first time all week, I give in to my body and say I need help. I crawled to the back (party seats when we were kids, you know, that straight line of 5 seats across the back wall of a huge bus? Now, a bed). TWO HOURS LATER I awoke at the lunch stop. Guess who else was on the bus? Like 10 other people, including Chicago Boss Girl Jackie who had also been taken down at rest stop number two because of the crazy pace that the Chalutzim set. Next time we make them take the hill!
But lucky you, here are photos from lunch, the Red Canyon, where they take all the teams. So of course Chicago Boss Girls gets a photo. We met another pair of Chicago riders that self-named ThunderBolt, and photobombed one of our shots. Also I pitched a photo of women riders with women crew for the first time. Just a reminder, women made up about 25% of the group.
So Jackie and I rejoined the group after our lovely nap on the bus and lunch on a hill to make a glorious final descent into Eilat.
The circle behind the photo on the left has dolphins! Yeah, I didn’t see them either.
Final ADHD note. I rode into Eilat no shoes, and no helmet. Why no helmet, you ask? Because we took a break at the dolphin circle, and then someone said, don’t rest here, it’s better at the beach! So I rushed out, having removed my helmet since it was hot, and not noticing until someone biking behind me asked, where is your helmet? Sigh. I was reunited with it later, never fear.
Here are the lovely bike mechanics who assembled and disassembled our bikes and our incredibly patient bus driver.
A few of our fellow riders, all of us thrilled to be at the beach and not on a bike!
Top right guy is a doctor in North Carolina. Bottom photo, girl and her dad. There were a few parent/child duos that were so sweet.
Here we are with some of the organizing/royalty of the Friends of Arava/Israel Ride and someone from the US Embassy.
After that, a ceremony and dinner. Not sure if we mentioned, this might be the last Israel Ride ever. Hopefully not. And a few final photos from our trip home. (And we STILL didn’t kill each other during a 5 hour delay in New Jersey en route to Chicago. Although Jersey girl got snippy at Muscles in the Israeli oversized luggage department after waiting 15 minutes and having our boxes opened without being offered tape to reseal and was almost thrown out by Boss Girl Jackie and another passerby. I think maybe Chicago Boss Girls will be together for awhile.)
A better future 
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