Saturday, July 18, 2009. Day 30

Stats:
Trip Total: 2125
Day Total: 82.83
Today I checked my email at the hostel and among tons of emails I unearthed one that gave me claim to fame. If you remember, a couple of weeks back I gave an interview to two journalists when I entered Anamur. The email I received had the electronic address of the article which is: http://www.anamurgundem.com/iste/haber_detay.asp?haberID=299

Got up at 9:00 and went into the city through Damascus gate.

The day was quiet as all Saturdays are in Jerusalem. I walked looking around. The within the walls city looks the way it did centuries ago and if one ignored certain things like the modern peddlers, an occasional radio, and the tourists, one could subject oneself to the feeling of being in a medieval town.

I went back to the hotel packed up and got ready to go. Before heading out, though, I decided to have a cup of tea and went to the hotel's living room. There, I engaged into conversation with Ales, a young Slovenian journalist who was reporting on the Middle East. He was very knowledgeable, and even though I did not agree on certain issues with him, I concluded that he was well informed. I ended up leaving at 11:15. I asked people how to get to highway 1 and biked in the direction they indicated. There was a lot of uphill in the beginning which later changed into downhill. It had to. Tel Aviv is at sea level. The highway was very modern and the road pavement was excellent.

About one quarter of the way I heard a siren behind me and stopped. It was the police. First time in my trip that the police stopped my biking. I leaned the bike against the wall and walked over to the police car. The two officers were very polite. First they informed me that bicycles are not allowed on the highway and then asked me where I come from. I answered their question and also handed them my passport. They said that I would have to get off the highway. When I told them that my destination was Tel Aviv and I did not know of any other way to get there, they went on the radio and then told me how to use the back roads, adding that this would only increase my biking by five to six kms. I realized I had no choice and did what they had asked me to. What impressed me was that both officers were in their late fifties. Typically after a certain age, police officers no longer go out patrolling but do clerical work at the office instead.

The already beautiful scenery became more beautiful or at least I could appreciate it more by riding on peaceful back roads. I rode the back roads for many kms and at some point, almost by mistake I got back on highway 1. Actually it was not such a smart move. The road was full of speeding cars and there was a lot of roadwork because of which there was no shoulder at all which really exposed me to a lot of risk as the police officers had warned me.

I kept on biking and when I got close to Tel Aviv I was a little confused as to how to go to Herzliyya, where Eli’s house is. I guessed and my guess was right. The town was given this name to honor Theodore Herzl. I was a bit unsure on how to proceed and exited the highway to find someone to ask and people were very happy to oblige. I got on highway 20 and biked on. The signs I saw as I biked on were clear. I was on the right track for Herzliyya. What surprised me is how accurately the distance was reported on Israeli signs. As you may see for yourselves, Israelis are fond of precision. In all my travels it is the first time I saw distance reported with such precision, 5¾ kms.

So, I was almost there a mere 5 kms from Herzaliyya. But of course!!! Nothing comes easy and you guessed right!!! I had to have a flat just 4 kms from Herzaliyya. I was so upset with the flat and with its timing that I debated with myself whether I should change the tube or just push the bike for 4 kms. Realizing how foolish the second thought was I just pushed the bike to the neighboring underpass to at least have some shade and went through the usual procedure on which continuous practice had made an expert of me. This time I found the culprit. I found a nail half an inch long in the tire. I pulled it out and replaced the tube. Bike on man bike on. I was at Eli’s half an hour later. Eli welcomed me and made sure that a continuous flow of cool drink was available at all time, of which I made extensive use.

I showered, settled in my room and later Eli’s sister Orna, whom I knew form NYC showed up. I was glad to see her and when she left Eli and I went for a walk to the nearby Marina which happens to be the biggest of Israel and it is situated among luxurious buildings.