Back home ...

When I signed up for this ride late last year, I really had not thought the whole thing through. When I bought the tickets on 28 February 2008, I had only an inkling of what this event was going to require.

The months progressed and the ride rapidly approached. The details came together (love that ADHD-driven hyper-focus) and the training reached a head. The bike was boxed up and my bags were packed. Now all I had to do was start the ride.

Now that I have completed the ride, the trip and the journey back home, here is where I am:

Physically

I left for Israel at a weight my scale had not seen since Elaine was pregnant with my eldest (1994) and returned from the ride at a weight I had not been since after our honeymoon. All in all I lost 20 pounds during my training and another 7 during the ride.

My cholesterol went down 43 points between July 2008 and November 2008. HDLs up. LDLs down. Cardiologist happy.

Excercise is no longer something I do, it is part of how I live.

Politically

I left Atlanta with a view of the Middle East skewed by my education and the media. While in Israel, I met and spent time with Israeli soldiers, alumni and current students at Arava (Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians, Egyptians, Canadians, Brits, Americans; Jews, Muslims, Christians), taxi drivers and Orthodox Jews by the Western Wall.

One can not legislate peace, only non-aggression. Peace comes from inside the citizenry. It comes from the people who want more balance, crave sustainability (social and environmental) and who plan with future generations in mind.

Those are the very people I met. They are the ones that will change the political landscape of the Middle East from the inside out - despite the best efforts of the political "leadership."

Yes, change from the inside takes longer. But it is the only change that is lasting.

I am more confident than ever that things can - and will - change for the better.

Emotionally

Judaism is almost 6,000 years old. We are a hearty, resilient and stubborn people. Israel makes the millennia of our history tangible. You can see it, hear it, touch it, taste it, smell it ... and feel it everywhere. The connection with that history, with our history, with our faith is powerful.

It is impossible to spend any time in Israel without being changed. I was at 15 and I am again at 43.

I am more connected to my faith and my culture than ever before.

Psychologically

Through most of my training, I was doubtful about my ability to complete the ride. It was not so much the potential physical limitation. I held a limiting belief that the distance and the terrain were beyond what I could handle.

On Wednesday, 12 November 2008 at 5:30am we were wheels up. I let go. I stopped over-thinking and over-analyzing. I just rode.

I watched the road. I took in my surroundings. I talked to the other riders. I felt the bike. I paid attention to my body. I let my mind go.

That made all the difference.

I am in touch with my strength again.

The Lasting Effect:

I planned. I trained. I soared. I learned about myself. I pushed my limits. I reached my perceived limits, far exceeded them, and found that my true limits were even beyond what I accomplished. Once I let go, nothing could hold me back.

Bringing that freedom home. Bringing that power home. Bringing that strength home. That is the lasting effect of this ride.

I am, as the saying goes, Dancing in the Moment.

Thanks for reading ...

David Taylor-Klaus
Team Atlanta

Team Atlanta Images & Videos

OK, folks ... We've updated the photo galleries and the video galleries from our trip. Wanna see?

http://picasaweb.google.com/TeamAtlantaRides
http://www.youtube.com/TeamAtlantaRides

Yad Vashem

The last time I was in Israel, it was 1980. Suffice it to say that the country has changed - physically, politically, environmentally, sociologically, psychologically ....

However, the commitment to history, rememberance and honor have remained core to the Israeli culture. The investment in Yad Vashem - the renovation, expansion and creation of a study center - has been extensive. With 51 acres atop one of the hills of Jerusalem, a visit to Yad Vashem is quiet, beautiful, poignant, moving, impactful, life-changing.

I spent the better part of 5 hours there moving from indoor exhibit to outdoor space. I moved through, and was moved by, the Holocaust History Museum. I wept in the Hall of Names. I was struck breathless by the Children's Memorial. I strolled in amazement through the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations. I was inspired by the Monument to the Jewish Soldiers and Partisans who fought against Nazi Germany. I was humbled by the Valley of the Communities and the loss it represents.

More than anything, I mourned the fact that my family was not there to experience it with me. When my 7 year old son is 10, I want to come back and share this country with my family.

Our Picasa site has a combined gallery of my Yad Vashem pictures along with Robert Port's and Bob Tucker's.

David Taylor-Klaus
Team Atlanta

Day trip to Petra (in Jordan)

Petra is an archaeological site lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. (The Treasury building is pictured here.)

Petra is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. We thought it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and had a lot of trouble accessing the web via "crackberry" in the middle of the Jordanian desert just to find out we were wrong!

After crossing the Jordanian border (where we got "stuck" long enough to shop at the tchotchke shop in between the two gates) we boarded a bus for the two hour schlep through the desert to get to Petra.

Although Isaac and David enjoyed the kefiahs, they opted NOT to wear them when they crossed back into Israel ... let alone into the US. Can you imagine how the Atlanta airport TSA guys would react?

The hike into Petra was fascinating. That none of us were killed by the horse/donkey-driven carts that flew down the path was a miracle. After a while you began to hear our folks scream "Horse Back!" or, when applicable, "Ass Back!

There are many more pictures (some great shots of the carvings and landscape as well as the camels and the deadly horse-carts) on our Picasa site.

Final Dinner & Slideshow

All we seemed to do was eat (with a few bike rides in between meals)! The final meal was a spread to die for. G-d forbid we should miss a meal.

The riders ate, drank, laughed, danced, ate again and drank more. The crew seemed to be a bit more restrained. The slide show gave us a great recap of a life-altering week. Yasher Koach to the crew for capturing it so well!

JoJo - the youngest Israel Ride participant - and Gil had a chance to talk to the crowd and got a great hug from Ilana ... Smile boys!

You can check out more pictures of the dinner on our Picasa site.

From Kibbutz Ketura to Eilat

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." ... Charles Dickens came to mind when I saw the elevation chart for this last day ...

We started with one vicious climb out of Ketura (up the same great descent from yesterday) that was part of a nearly-continuous 37 mile climb! As a reward, the ride ended with a steep, smooth and beautiful descent into Eilat. Between the pretty robust headwinds and the few stops we made for photos (I said it was beautiful!), top speeds were not in the cards. Just a great end to our sojourn.

We finished at a bar in Eilat (great plan, no?) and there was much rejoicing.When we got to Har Hizkiyahu (at 37 miles), we had lunch and enjoyed a tremendous view.

We were right on the Egyptian border and could see Jordan just to our west.

We did bike salutes on the crest of the hill in spitting distance from some Egyptian border patrol.

I wonder what was going through their minds!

From Mitzpe Ramon to Kibbutz Ketura

We started the day with a fore-shortened Shacarit service on the edge of the Makhtesh.What a phenomenal experience. Rabbi Mark (Team Boulder) led a beautiful sunrise service. Ilana and the crew played the drums as we sang Modeh Ani (the morning prayer) and offered a few selected prayers related to our upcoming effort.

After the service, we did some stretching with Alma and one of the other limber crew members.

When we rolled out, it was directly into an all-out screaming descent into the Makhtesh with crazy switchbacks. However, once we were past the last switchback, we had a stupendous straight-away where a bunch of us hit our top speeds ... ever! I only got to 46.4 mph because I was sitting up too much - the view was gorgeous and I didn't want to miss it. Rabbi Mario topped 51 mph! He'd seen the view in May when he did the ride last time. ;)

Well, what goes down must come up. Each of the climbs (into Shdema, out of Nachal Pharan and the slow burn towards the last descent into Ketura) was work. This was not a day of rest.

The reward? Yet another screaming descent into Ketura. AND, plenty of beer and wine waiting for us at Kibbutz Ketura, Arava's home. We ended the day with a great meal and music around the campfire.