Countdown

From October 23rd

The last forty eight hours have been an incredible whirlwhind. I barely know
which way is up.

After landing at Ben Gurion Airport, I rode (by car!) to Alyn Hospital to
resgister and have my bike assembled. I always love to go ther; I get to see
the same old volunteer faces, I usually meet up with some veteran riders, and,
most importantly, I get to see what this ride is really all about. They are
constantly making improvements, so we get to see where our money is going and it
is always inspiring. Incidentally, the mechanics assembled my bike in 12 minutes
this year.

I also got to see Erez, the leader of the Challenge Ride. Besides being an
accomplished rider, Erez is one of the nicest and most skillful leaders you
could meet. It isn't easy dealing with 55 maniacs, setting a pace that everyone
is comfortable with and keeping the group cohesive, but Erez does it every year.

Later on, I had a lovely outdoor dinner with my daughter Rebecca on a Jerusalem
evening that could not have been more glorious. Unfortunately, I spent a good
part of the rest of the day on the phone and on my blackberry dealing with the
fire drill that started Wednesday morning. And, to make things more difficult,
I'm having major phone issues. I apparently kept breaking up when I tried to
speak and it was also difficult to hear.

Rebecca and I spent a very pleasant morning with friends in Efrat and then did
some food shopping. In about an hour, I get to see my son, daughter in law and
grandchildren and we will be spending most of the next 24 hours together. I am
really looking forward to that since the little ones are growing up so quickly
without us.

On Saturday night, we leave for Mitzpe Ramon where the ride starts. They asked
everyone to assemble at 6:30 p.m. but I've seen this movie before. I will get
there at 6:30 and the busses won't even be there. If we leave by 7:30, it will
be a miracle. (If you want to know why I don't just show up later, it's because
I know that the first time I do that, they will be on time and leave without
me). On Sunday we start with a desceptively difficult but short 51 mile ride.

My goal for tonight is to get a solid 8 hours of sleep. I slept fitfully last
night and you simply can't do the Alyn Ride without adequate sleep. A good
night's sleep tonight is critical.