We Go Mountain Bike Riding

One day we cut class at Ulpan (Hebrew language school) to go on a bike ride organized by the local bike shop. Our crew consists of: Asaf, the owner of the bike shop; two guys from France and Switzerland; a local Israeli; and Lynn and me. That's Asaf on the left.

We head out into the desert with Asaf in the lead. The riding is technically challenging with lots of loose rubble.

Lynn is sure enjoying riding on her new mountain bike.

We experience technical difficulties. No problem. Asaf is an expert tire changer.

After a few hours of riding we make it to the Makhtesh Gadol. The makhtesh looks like a huge crater, but actually, it was formed by water erosion.

Here's a closeup of the wall of the makhtesh. The red rock on the cliffs below the limestone escarpment is actually sandstone. It's the first sandstone we've seen on this trip.

On the ride back, Asaf leads us to this hole in the ground.

On closer observation, we can see that there is a staircase leading down. We go down the staircase into an ancient water cistern, chiseled out of chalk probably about two thousand years ago. On the right wall you can see the chisel marks. We continue to be amazed at the engineering prowess of the people who survived in this desert in ancient times.

Inside, the cistern is huge. Nowadays, there's even a tree growing inside.

Here's another view.

When we come out, we can see the network of ditches and dams that were constructed to direct runoff into the cistern.

The ride takes nearly all day and one of the European guys told us it was 38 kilometers. That's over 23 miles on dirt and rock. Only on the way back does Asaf reveal to us that it's one of the most technically challenging rides in the area. Once we're back at the bike shop, it's time to celebrate our success. Here's Lynn having fun with one of the bike techs.

Here she is clowning around with Asaf.

Here we are, savoring the sweetness of completing a great ride.