From WOL On-Road D…

Here we are loading into the bus on the last morning – our group had stayed at Kibbutz Ketura, a really lovely guest house within a Kibbutz that is focused on ecologically-sound agricultural practices. We had a lovely bar-b-que dinner the previous night, poolside – I was very sad that I had forgotten to pack my swimsuit, and wasn’t able to purchase a replacement until we got to Eilat!

We drove back to the other kibbutz (I think it was called Kibbutz Yahel), where the majority of the On-Road riders had stayed (and reports were that the accommodations were far inferior to ours at Ketura!). There, I found my friends Lori and Michele, lounging on the hammock, and both were determined to take the bus option to skip the first big climb of the day, in order to save energy for the rest of the ride into Eilat.

From WOL On-Road D…

I had been considering this option, since my legs didn’t feel up to another big climb, and with their support, I figured “OK” that works for me. So, the announcement came “riders, on your bikes, and you will be told where to catch the bus”, and off we went.

We turned a corner, and I saw nothing obvious in terms of a bus, so on I pedaled…..a few meters on, one of my fellow riders, Harry – from Liverpool, said “Well, I see you’ve decided to go for it!” and I thought “Oh no!” So, here I am, half-way up that first big climb, putting my bravest face on it.

From WOL On-Road D…

And it went better than I thought it would. Yes, those of us in the shot below did end up walking up the end of the hill, and, because of time constraints, the bus did end up picking us up and dropping us at the first pit-stop as I’d planned to do anyway, but at least I took a stab at the climb, and was making it (for the most part). Given that I hadn’t had as much time to train this summer as I had hoped or wanted, I felt that I did quite well, all things considered!

So, this last photo is taken by me at the bend half-way up the climb that started the day, just before we all dismounted and walked up the rest of the way, and before we got “sagged”.

From WOL On-Road D…