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.