metro >>
Let th
'Israel On Two Wheels'
FIDF's first cycling tour brings challenges and mutual admiration.
Dany Saar I Special to the Jewish News
take care
of you.
With great rates, an
even better staff, and the
speediest buses in the
business, trust Qwik Park'.
to get you to the airport
Qwik as a flash.
Save time
Reserve online.
qwikpark.com
7782 Merriman Rd., Romulus, MI
W
e stood atop Israel's tall-
est peak, Mount Hermon,
at a heavily fortified stra-
tegic Israeli Army base that overlooks
Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and the
hills of war-torn Syria — among the first
tourists to ever visit this spot.
Some 40 of us felt deeply privileged to
be there, not only because we were getting
a rare look at the "eye of the country:' but
also because of how we got there.
I was part of the first Friends of Israel
Defense Forces (FIDF) cycling tour of
Israel, "Israel on Two Wheels," a recent
six-day whirlwind trek from Israel's north-
ern tip to its southernmost area. We tra-
versed some 400 miles and 32,000 vertical
feet, including cycling along four seas:
the Mediterranean, the Sea of Galilee, the
Dead Sea and the Red Sea.
The trip, to bring FIDF supporters
closer to the Jewish state and to the brave
men and women who protect it, achieved
that goal and far, far more. Powered by
our bicycles, coming from various home
states across the U.S., our group expe-
rienced Israel from our handlebars and
bonded with the impressive young sol-
diers of the IDF. We were also powerfully
inspired to be joined by wounded IDF
veterans, amputees who are involved in
challenging sports and who will stop at
nothing to live normal lives and to even
compete athletically.
Some 40 riders
were constantly
on the go during
the FIDF's first
cycling tour of
Israel.
111111,
D MA
rerallt
Former Israeli Air Force officer Dany Saar
ISRAEL'S VARIED TERRAIN
On the first day, our route took us from
Kibbutz Eilon, near the Mediterranean
coast in Israel's northwestern Galilee, to
Kibbutz Kfar Giladi in the western Galilee,
along the Lebanese border — a climb of
more than 6,500 feet and 45 total miles.
A heavy winter rainstorm hit us, and we
slogged through wind gusts of 40-50 miles
per hour. We were buoyed by the pres-
ence of the wounded veterans who cycled
alongside us, not even flinching at the
challenges.
Many of us agreed that if we could do
this part, we could do anything.
And we did. The second day, we headed
to Mount Hermon, a 30-mile vertical
climb with grades approaching nearly
18 percent at times. The Mitzpe Shlagim
(Snow Lookout) military base was inac-
cessible by bike, so our bus ferried us the
last leg. From that point, we understood
why this base with its views of two critical
fronts — and the scene of brutal battles
in the 1973 Yom Kippur War — remains
Exit 198 from 1-94
Exit 20 from 1-275
1.888.844.7275 • qwikpark.com
16
December 10 • 2015
Jr
of West Bloomfield led the cycling tour.
so critical, not just to the area but to the
whole country.
That afternoon, we crossed the volcanic
Golan Heights along the Syrian border
and reached Kibbutz Kinneret on the
southwest side of the Sea of Galilee. We
had covered 77 miles.
The next day we rode south through the
Jordan Valley to Bet She'an to a national
park with springs, palm trees, pools and
green lawns. Then our bus carried us
south to the lowest point on Earth — the
Dead Sea, 1,200 feet below sea level. From
there, on the fourth day, we made the
challenging trek (with a 3,000-foot vertical
climb) up the Judean Hills to the Negev
Desert highlands and Kibbutz Mashabeh
Sadeh, biking 65 miles altogether.
Each moment of every day, we all grew
increasingly inspired, not just by Israel's
natural beauty and dramatically changing
topography, but also by the fact that the
wounded warriors among us, men who
had lost limbs defending Israel in war-
time, not only kept pace but also set it.
We all quickly developed friendships,
for we all endured and overcame chal-
lenges together — just like a soldier bonds
with his squad in the army. (Born in
Israel, I, too, served in the IDF). Ironically,
while we were cycling across Israel amid a
new wave of terrorism, we had no armed
guards with us, but at no time did we feel
any fear, tension or threats.
On our fifth day, we visited the
gravesite of Israel's first prime minister
and leader, David Ben-Gurion, climbed
to Ramon IDF Air Force Base and, as we
approached, F-16s returning from training
flew right overhead, bringing us a special
escort. We finished the day climbing to
Mitzpeh Ramon.
On the sixth day, we covered 105 miles
as we headed from the higher elevations
of the desert south to a Red Sea resort in
Eilat, along the Egyptian border. On our
final descent, from the brown desert we
saw the blue waters of the Red Sea, and we
knew we'd reached the culmination of a
lifetime experience.
We finished our journey with the strong
sense that we Jews can look to an amazing
place called Israel, whose men and women
are doing the job every day of protecting
it, not only for Israel's citizens, but for the
entire Jewish people. *
Dany Saar led the Friends of the IDF "Israel on Two
Wheels" cycling tour. Dany lives in West Bloomfield
and is a former officer in the Israeli Air Force. See
page 20 for more on the FIDF annual dinner.